


Legacy

by Ace Of Hearts (huntingmyths)



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997)
Genre: Alpha Angeal Hewley, Alpha Genesis Rhapsodos, Alpha Zack Fair, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Intersexed omegas, M/M, Multi, Mutilation, Omega Cloud Strife, Omega Sephiroth (Compilation of FFVII), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Slow Burn, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:53:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25497916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huntingmyths/pseuds/Ace%20Of%20Hearts
Summary: Legend tells of a guardian of the planet that was last seen when the Cetra roamed the planet. One of the WEAPONs of the planet that was unlike the others in they were created with the likeness of mankind. While the other WEAPONs were created with the intention to destroy that which threatened the planet, this one was created to protect the Cetra and humankind.The Golden WEAPON was last called upon to stop the calamity from destroying the world. It disappeared along with the calamity, never to be heard from again.It is said that the Golden WEAPON will appear again in times of need when the world needs them the most.
Relationships: Zack Fair/Angeal Hewley/Genesis Rhapsodos/Sephiroth/Cloud Strife
Comments: 28
Kudos: 271





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [villaincoded](https://archiveofourown.org/users/villaincoded/gifts).



_Legend tells of a guardian of the planet that was last seen when the Cetra roamed the planet. One of the WEAPONs of the planet that was unlike the others in they were created with the likeness of mankind. While the other WEAPONs were created with the intention to destroy that which threatened the planet, this one was created to protect the Cetra and humankind._

_The Golden WEAPON was last called upon to stop the calamity from destroying the world. It disappeared along with the calamity, never to be heard from again._

_It is said that the Golden WEAPON will appear again in times of need when the world needs them the most._

**

The moment Zack and Angeal approached Fort Tamblin, it was obvious that something was different about this stronghold than any others. The other locations had monsters that were used to fend off Shinra’s military, sure, but it seemed as though there were even more at this location than any other.

Fort Tamblin had been part of quiet discussions between the First Class SOLDIERs and the Turks. There was something they were hiding at this stronghold that they didn’t want anyone from Shinra to know about. Not even the Turks could get in, but Tseng had heard rumors from before the war and whatever they were, Sephiroth was not happy about them.

Zack never heard the rumors and Sephiroth had never said anything to him or Genesis and Angeal as far as he was aware. If there was any sort of known danger in the compound, they would have been made aware of it immediately.

Zack slipped in the back while Angeal took the front, making a distraction for Zack to take down whatever was inside. He wasn’t, however, expecting to find two monsters with tomahawks that were ready to smash him to the ground. And the fact that they attacked together made it that much more frustrating.

He dispatched them before realizing that they’d smashed into a hidden door, revealing a set of stairs. He made his way down as quietly as possible, knowing that this wasn’t a normal mission. Nothing about this was normal and everything about it had Zack’s hair standing on end more than normal.

What creeped him out the most was that the further through the passages he went, the more it began to look like the science department back at Shinra. There was metal and the smell of mako and cleaning supplies, which made him want to gag. He hated going to the science department for anything and he didn’t like this either. Anything that smelled like this spelled bad news.

_“We haven’t tested it yet,”_ came a voice from around the corner that made Zack pause.

**“You’ve had twelve years to test it.”**

**“Yes, but if the legends are true, it will destroy everything.”**

**“The legends say that it was created to protect us from evil. There’s no way those things are close to human.”**

**“It needs time to recover from the mako.”**

**“Time isn’t something we have. Now wake it up or-”**

Zack took that moment to step out and knock both men in lab coats unconscious. He made his way through the mako tanks, and metal slabs that were meant to be tables to experiment on. It seemed as though the only two people down there were the scientists that were working on some kind of project.

He sent a message to Angeal that the inside was secure, but he had found something that the Firsts and whatever Turks were available had to see. He found files upon files of something called “Project W” which intrigued him. He knew that Sephiroth had been part of Project S and Angeal and Genesis were part of Project G, but this was new. It seemed that there were experiments done on a human subject if the images in one of the files were anything to go on.

“Man, scientists really have no creativity when it comes to naming things,” Zack sighed to himself.

There was a sudden smell of mako, blood, and fear that caused Zack’s senses to go on alert. How he hadn’t noticed it before threw up warning signs as he took off towards the smell. It was the same kind of smell that normally came with Sephiroth after a trip to the science department to see Hojo. Only the fear was even more pronounced and the blood smelled extremely fresh.

“ _Do it,_ ” came a new voice, cold and strict. “ _Do it before I decide to use this again and trust me when I say I won’t be nice this time._ ”

Zack ran faster through the halls, barging into a room to see a mop of red hair – Zack couldn’t tell if it was blood or the actual color of the hair – curled up in a corner, cowering as the Wutai soldier in front of them brandished a whip with spikes coming out of it. The soldier spun around in surprise before Zack cast a paralysis spell on him, causing him to fall over. The small body in the corner was what reeked of blood, mako, and fear, and that fear was coming in tenfold compared to how it felt on the other side of the lab.

The SOLDIER moved forward, approaching the small body that curled up even tighter, a distressed sound coming from their throat. Zack’s heart broke as he crouched down in front of the small omega, trying to make them understand that he wasn’t the enemy. With how the omega was positioned and with the hospital gown, he couldn’t tell whether the omega was male or female. They were extremely effeminate – even more so than a lot of omegas he knew – and thin as though they were starved.

His phone began ringing, causing the omega to startle and try to make themselves as small as possible.

“Zack here.”

_“Zack, where are you? We’ve entered the hidden labs.”_

“It’s like a maze down here, but I’m in the back left corner. There’s a room and… Geal, I need Seph to come here as fast as possible. There’s an omega that was being tortured.”

There was a curse from the other side of the phone that Zack would have normally enjoyed teasing his mate about, but this wasn’t the time. He couldn’t stop staring in concern at the omega who had yet to move from their curled up position in the corner.

“My name’s Zack,” he tried.

The omega just whimpered, scooting as far away from Zack as they could.

The sound of footsteps echoed behind Zack as he glanced over to see Sephiroth and Genesis walking in with Tseng behind them. He could see the Turk’s expression harden, which was interesting, but he was even more interested in Sephiroth’s reaction to the omega.

“He was threatening the omega with that whip,” Zack said, motioning to the strip of leather on the ground.

“Jagged metal,” Genesis growled out.

Sephiroth took off his coat and stepped forward, crouching in front of the omega. The smaller creature’s eyes darted up and Zack’s breath caught in his throat. Their eyes were the same glowing blue as those of SOLDIERs, but they were as intense as Sephiroth’s. These scientists… no, these monsters, had abused and tortured this omega with mako and who knew what else.

Zack watched as Sephiroth extended his arm, the omega giving a distressed cry at the movement before the silver-haired general went still. The omega’s nose twitched as they sniffed at the scent of another omega before making a confused sound.

“Do they… do they not know the scent of another omega?” Zack asked, startling the omega again.

“If they were raised down here, most likely not,” came Genesis’s answer. “But we need to get them out of here.”

Sephiroth slowly moved his hand to cup the omega’s cheek, his fingers gently stroking the skin. They all watched with bated breath as the omega tensed at the touch as if waiting to be struck and harmed. Zack’s heart broke as he watched the scene in front of him when he suddenly heard the familiar sound of Sephiroth purring. It was soft and barely audible if not for his SOLDIER hearing. It was a sound that was normally only heard during the silver-haired omega’s heat and definitely not outside of their apartment.

They all breathed a sigh of relief when the mysterious omega purred right back though it was stilted and stopped after a few seconds. Sephiroth continued to stroke the omega’s cheek even as they leaned into the touch.

“Can you understand me?” Sephiroth asked.

The omega tensed before slowly nodding, blue eyes still wide and cautious even if the tang of fear in the air had slowly gone down – still there but not as potent.

“We’re here to help you,” the general continued. “No one will harm you again.”

Sephiroth moved with exaggerated movements to show that he meant no harm as he helped the omega stand up. Now that Zack could see them better, he caught sight of a collar that was undoubtedly digging into the omega’s throat and had to hurt.

“Seph, the-”

“I’m aware,” came the calm voice. “Zack, go let Angeal know what we’ve found. Genesis and I have this.”

The dark-haired teen hesitated before nodding and leaving them.

As soon as Zack was gone, Sephiroth moved to take off the collar. The omega let out a pained cry, causing the older of the two omegas to pause what he was doing. He moved slower this time before realizing why the omega was in so much pain by removing it. The inside of the collar had barbed wire that had pierced the skin and the skin had healed over it – removing it was tearing the healed skin.

“Gen.” The redhead looked over in question. “I need the strongest sleep you can do.”

“You’re sure?”

At the nod, Genesis cast the spell on the omega who went limp in Sephiroth’s hold. The silver-haired man began removing the collar as slowly as he was able to. He didn’t want to cause unnecessary pain and they still had to document any other injuries once they were back at camp before he could use a cure on the small omega.

As soon as the collar was off, Sephiroth pulled out a revive and fed it to the small omega. Their eyes opened and they blinked in confusion before Sephiroth held up the collar to show them.

“You never have to wear it again,” Sephiroth quietly promised.

He helped the omega stand up on shaky feet before the sound of metal caught their attention. A large, heavy-duty metal chain was attached to the wall and went all the way to a metal cuff that wrapped around the omega’s ankle. It allowed the omega to move around, but they were limited in the movement. But it was rusted and looked weak enough that he would be able to break it, especially with the strength he obviously possessed if the mako eyes were anything to go off of.

“Let’s get out of here,” Genesis said, glancing at the body. “I will relish in burning this place to the ground.”

The omega stumbled forward, staying as close to Sephiroth as possible before they hit the limit of the chain that was attached to the ankle. The omega gave a small whimper, looking back at the metal before making a sad sound.

“You can break it,” Genesis said in a tone that made the small omega tremble and make an apologetic noise.

Sephiroth shot a glare at the redhead as he stepped forward. He crouched down, reaching out to grip the chain. The omega cocked their head to the side as they watched the silver-haired man, watching as Sephiroth’s fingers shattered the metal chains.

“We’ll get the cuff off your leg when we get back to base,” Sephiroth said.

The omega tilted their head again before crying out in shock as Sephiroth wrapped his coat around them and scooping them up. Their arms wrapped around Sephiroth’s neck, face buried in the crook of the silvered hair man’s neck. Sephiroth rubbed the omega’s back as he walked, making his way out of the labs while ensuring that the omega didn’t see anything as they walked.

Once they reached the main floor of Fort Tamblin, Sephiroth paused when he saw Tseng staring at the omega. He hadn’t even realized that the Turk had left the room, but his focus had been only on getting the omega out.

“The rumors were true then,” Tseng stated, glancing at the small omega. “I can have Cissnei return with him to-”

“No.” Everyone in the vicinity turned to stare at the General in surprise. “They will remain by my side.”

“Seph-”

“That’s my final say.”

“What rumors?” Zack asked as he and Angeal followed Sephiroth out of the compound.

“Rumors of an omega believed to be a WEAPON of the planet,” came Sephiroth’s answer.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the omega began trembling in fear, their weak grip tightening around the general’s neck. Sephiroth gave a soft, short purr to calm the omega down which seemed to work as their muscles relaxed slightly.

“When I first found that place, the two scientists were saying that something needed to recover from mako and that it was supposed to protect them from evil.”

“Genesis would be better suited to explain what they believed they had.”

“Seph… you’re not going to let them go, are you?”

The silver-haired omega gave Angeal a look that told the Alpha all he needed to know. There was no debate about this – none of them would put up an argument anyways after seeing the small omega. They were getting a new pack member, one that was defenseless and one that they would have to protect with their lives once they returned to Midgar and Hojo caught wind of what had happened.


	2. Chapter 2

It began raining as they continued their walk back to camp. The water washed the blood from the omega’s hair, revealing that it was truly blond underneath. They seemed confused, though, at the feeling of water droplets and the fact that it was coming from the sky. It seemed that he didn’t know that rain fell from the sky, reminding Sephiroth of himself the first time he’d been out in the rain.

“At least Gen isn’t stuck in this,” Zack piped up, trying to get rid of the awkward silence that was surrounding them.

“Do you think Godo knew of that?” Angeal asked, ignoring the comment from the younger dark haired Alpha.

Sephiroth merely hummed in response as he glanced down at the omega in his arms who looked ready to pass out. The fear they were feeling had spluttered out and given way to exhaustion. Sephiroth wouldn’t have been surprised if they had fallen asleep, but knew that they were still too fearful to fully succumb to unconsciousness.

As soon as they reached the camp, the omega tensed up again at the feeling of alphas and betas surrounding them. Sephiroth was just glad that Angeal was there to give orders and keep them away as their general and lieutenant made their way to their tent. At least he could field the questions and be more diplomatic than either other First about it.

He set the omega on his own bed before pulling out his PHS and starting to photograph the flecks of blood still in their hair and the bruising and still healing wounds from the collar. The more leverage they had against Wutai and Godo, the better.

“What’s your name?” Zack asked, peering curiously at the omega.

The blond trembled even harder, looking frantically at Sephiroth as if pleading for him to protect the younger omega from the Alpha.

“Do you have a name?” Sephiroth asked, already figuring the answer without the omega saying anything.

The omega hesitated, his breath quickening as they started to panic. That told the silver haired omega everything he had to know. He moved to sit next to the blond, glancing at Zack for permission for what he was going to do. He had only done this a few other times when they’d found distressed omegas who were treated as nothing more than chattel and Zack had never been there, but he was the only Alpha in their pack the tent currently.

Zack stared in confusion when the door opened and Angeal walked in, glancing at the omega who was having a panic attack. Sephiroth looked over to see the small nod before he turned his attention back to the omega. He purred softly, rubbing his head against the blond’s as he marked the omega as one of theirs. It would be more effective for Angeal or Zack to do it, but he was certain it would cause even more panic and fear and the tent was already swimming in it and almost certainly seeping outside. 

The blond sniffled, the fear slowly receding as they nuzzled back. They nipped at Sephiroth’s jaw as he slowly the movement slightly. They sat there quietly as Sephiroth sensed Angeal walking closer and Zack leaving the tent.

“What happened?” Angeal finally asked once the omega had calmed.

“I’ll tell you later,” came the answer as Sephiroth continued to stare at the other omega. “Do you know how to talk?”

There was a small nod of affirmation before a quick shake of his head once he looked over at Angeal, the scent of fear spiking again.

“Were you harmed for speaking?” Angeal asked.

The omega trembled but didn’t say anything, when there was a loud shout and a bang from outside. Sephiroth frowned as he saw the blond jump at the sudden sounds before Zack opened the flap and poked his head in.

“Wutai’s here and they’re not happy.”

Sephiroth glanced back at the Alpha, nodding in understanding before he grabbed his blanket that he knew smelled like him. He unfolded it and wrapped it around the blond so he could take his jacket back, watching as they smelled the blanket and relaxed slightly at the scent.

“Seph, we have to go,” Angeal said.

He nodded in agreement, leaning down to nuzzle the omega’s cheek one last time before softly ordering, “Stay here. We’ll return shortly.”

The omega shook his head, moving to stand up and follow. Sephiroth frowned as he lifted the omega up and set them back down, ignoring the twist in his stomach at how thin and light they were for their size.

“It’s too dangerous out there.”

The omega moved to get up again, causing Sephiroth to sigh as he cast a weak sleep spell. He felt bad, but he had to leave them somewhere safe even if Angeal was giving him a look that would spell disaster when this was all over.

Grabbing Masamune, Sephiroth made his way out of the tent and to where the soldiers of Wutai were attempting to gain access to their camp.

“Do what you feel you must,” Angeal softly said, touching his arm.

The carnage and blood shed was more than any of Shinra’s military had ever seen during the war coming from their general. Normally he was more reserved, only killing when he absolutely had to, but he was showing no mercy this time. He slaughtered every single warrior that Wutai had except for their commanding officer.

The Alpha was staring at Sephiroth with a fearful look in his eye as he was tied up and left to the two First Class SOLDIERs while Zack led the cleanup of the bodies.

“What did you come here for?” Angeal questioned. “Surely you must know it’s suicide.”

“Orders,” the Alpha stated, never removing his eyes from Sephiroth. “S-Shinra stole something of Wutai’s.”

“And what was it we stole?”

“T-the planet’s guardian. T-they’ve been working to u-unlock its power, but it was stolen before-”

Sephiroth snarled, walking over and grabbing Zack’s sword from the Alpha’s back. He stroked the blade with his fingers as he walked back, letting the Alpha get a good view of it. The Wutaiian Alpha stared at him in fear as he glanced over at Angeal for permission.

“It’s your decision,” Angeal said, his arms folded as he casually watched the scene in front of him.

Sephiroth sliced the man’s arm off at the elbow and stated, “Tell Godo that the omega is ours.”

The man stumbled as he ran off before Angeal placed a hand on Sephiroth’s shoulder, quietly saying, “You did good, Seph.”

The two First Class SOLDIERs assisted with the clean up before Sephiroth returned to the tent to find the omega having woken on curled up in the corner. As soon as they saw Sephiroth, the omega ran to him and clung to him tightly as their entire body trembling. He wrapped his arms around the omega, holding them close as he tried to calm them down.

The omega bumped their head against Sephiroth’s, rubbing their scents together as they made a soft sound as though they were trying to purr but didn’t know how. Sephiroth made the soft vibrating sound that the omega mimicked before stopping and trying to start again on their own.

“I’m okay,” Sephiroth promised. “I’m safe and so are you.”

The omega lifted their hand up to Sephiroth’s face, touching his cheek before pulling their hand away to reveal blood. Sephiroth frowned, wiping it away with his sleeve.

“It’s not mine.” He ran his fingers through the blond hair. “You can speak, you will not be harmed for it.”

“B-Bad.”

Sephiroth looked down at the omega, surprised at the sudden sound. Their voice was soft, but definitely male. It sounded scratchy and broken, probably from not being used. But at least Sephiroth knew that they could speak now.

“Not bad,” Sephiroth replied, sitting on his cot with the omega sitting beside him. “Good.”

The omega tilted his head to the side in curiosity though the fear had all but left him.

“Do you have a name?”

“T-took…”

“They took it from you.” The omega sadly nodded at Sephiroth’s assumption. “Do you want it back?”

The omega perked up at the question, when the flap of the tent suddenly opened and Genesis walked in. The omega hid from the redhead, fear starting to permeate the air again. It wasn’t as bad as it had been before, but it was still there.

Genesis ignored the scent as he walked over and shoved a folder against Sephiroth’s chest, saying, “The omega stays with us.”

“What did you find?”

“That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Genesis stated, motioning towards the folder. “I saw the carnage that you brought according to Geal.”

“It was coming,” came the answer from the omega general.

Genesis smiled, running his fingers through the long silver hair as he leaned down to kiss the omega. Sephiroth nipped at his jaw with a small smile before watching Genesis’s hand out of the corner of his eye. The Alpha’s hand moved towards the small omega who was cowering slightly behind Sephiroth. He tensed, staring at the hand with fright before the fingers ran through the blond locks. The omega seemed confused by the action, but after a few strokes of their hair, he was leaning into the touch with a pleased sound.

“You’re such a sweet omega,” Genesis said, smiling at the omega. “It’s horrible what happened, but you’re safe now. We’ll keep you safe.”

“Sa-safe?” the omega repeated.

Genesis paused his ministrations in surprise, looking over at Sephiroth who nodded in answer to the unspoken question. The omega gave a confused sound as he bumped against Genesis’s stilled hand for more petting.

“Yes,” Genesis agreed, continuing the light touches. “You’re safe. We’ll protect you from those horrible people.” The omega gave a trill of happiness. “No one will hurt you again, Cloud.”

Sephiroth glanced over at the omega who had tensed at the name. The blond’s eyes were wide in shock at what Genesis had said.

“Cloud?” Sephiroth repeated.

“That’s the name they had in the first couple of records we found.”

“Is that your name?” Sephiroth asked, looking at the blond.

The little omega nodded, looking teary eyed. What neither of them were expecting were for him to launch himself at Genesis, trembling as he nuzzled the redhead Alpha’s chest.

“They took his name,” Sephiroth stated. “Like Hojo had taken mine after Gast’s disappearance.”

Genesis held onto the omega possessively as he sat down next to Sephiroth before pulling the older omega into his grip as well. He held onto both of them, Sephiroth’s muscles relaxing for the first time since the call where Zack had said he’d found an omega. He allowed this one concession, closing his eyes as he let himself purr as he relaxed against his alpha.

“We’ll protect both of you,” Genesis whispered, kissing Sephiroth’s forehead. “Do you want us to use that name for you, little one?”

“Cl-Cloud,” he repeated, his voice hoarse but sleepy.

“You can sleep. The both of you can, I’ll keep watch.”

Angeal stepped into the tent two hours later to see Genesis sitting with Sephiroth sleeping against him and the blond in his arms. He raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything as Genesis put a finger to his lips. He shifted to lay the blond on the cot, watching as he curled up against Sephiroth.

The two alphas walked out as Angeal asked, “Everything’s okay?”

“They took his name, ‘Geal. Like they did Seph’s and… those reports… I read some of them as we were getting them together and it… it reminds me of what Seph said. They tortured him. They hurt him so much and all because they think he’s some stupid weapon from the planet.”

Angeal wrapped his arms around Genesis, softly saying, “It will be alright, Gen. We’ll make sure they’re both safe. I promise.”


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next few days, the Shinra troops had become used to Sephiroth’s little blond shadow that followed him everywhere. The little omega that clung to him and followed him wherever he went while avoiding everyone else as much as possible. There were rumors that had gone around that Sephiroth had claimed the little omega they had found at Fort Tamblin – it was an easy assumption when Sephiroth took pills to hide his omegan scent. They all had been told to not approach the omega without permission and, as he was only seen at meal times and when Sephiroth had to do something in the camp, it was easy for them to keep their distance.

Despite having spoken to Genesis and been comfortable attaching himself to the Alpha when he’d first been brought to the camp, Cloud was still extremely wary of anyone who wasn’t Sephiroth and didn’t smell at least slightly like omega. He was dressed in some of Genesis’s clothes as the alpha was closest to him in size, though it still hung off the small omega. He was also still terrified of Zack’s hyper energy and Angeal’s size which they understood though it still hurt.

Four days after Cloud had been taken in, it felt like daily the Wutai army was trying to get Cloud back. It wasn’t as much of a bloodbath after that first day, but Sephiroth made it clear that no one was to harm the omega, least of all Wutai who had abused and starved the omega when they should be cherished – even according to Wutai’s history and Tseng’s knowledge of it, Omegas were to be protected at all costs.

“I have to go,” Sephiroth said, looking at Cloud as they stood just inside the tent. “You can’t come with me.”

Cloud made a distressed sound in his throat that would have had an Alpha bending over backwards to ensure that sound didn’t continue. But he was the General and he had a job to do as much as he wanted to remain and protect the weakest and smallest member of their pack.

“Cloud, I’ll be safe. Angeal and Zack are coming with me and Genesis is going to remain here to keep you safe.”

“C-come,” came the broken word. Despite Cloud’s ability and knowledge of speaking, it still came out broken and was very rare to hear. “I-I come.”

“You can come with me when you can protect yourself.”

Cloud made another distressed noise as Genesis walked into the tent. He stared between the two before running his fingers through the blond locks. This had become a way to calm Cloud down when he was stressed and frightened, though it also helped that Genesis would purr for him when Sephiroth was gone as well to help calm him.

“They’re all ready to go,” Genesis said, leaning up to kiss the corner of Sephiroth’s lips. “We’ll be waiting for you to come back.”

As soon as Sephiroth left, Genesis moved Cloud over to the cot and sat down, continuing to run his fingers through the blond locks. Cloud closed his eyes, nuzzling against the Alpha’s chest, content to just relax against him.

“You’re such a sweet little omega,” Genesis muttered, stroking his hair.

The redhead watched as Cloud’s fingers reached out hesitantly to touch the bracer with the materia on his wrist.

“Have you ever seen Materia before?” Genesis softly asked.

There was a hesitant nod of affirmation.

“Did those monsters make you use it?”

Another nod.

The Alpha frowned as he asked, “Do you want me to take them off?”

Cloud shook his head mumbling, “W-warm.”

“They’re warm?”

“Uh-huh.”

Genesis couldn’t help the smile at the fact that Cloud was verbally responding to him. Even with Sephiroth, the little omega was stubborn and talking was like pulling teeth. It wasn’t anyone’s fault but those Wutaian scientists, but it felt like a huge win for the Alpha.

Genesis shifted them so he could pull out the cure Materia from his bracer. He held it out to Cloud, who stared at the green orb before hesitantly accepting it. It was a cure Materia so there was nothing that could harm the omega, but it still let him touch it and get a feel for it.

“Do you want to hold onto that?” Genesis asked.

Cloud made a questioning noise, not looking away from the orb in his hands.

Genesis nuzzled the blond locks. “Cloud’s cure materia.”

Cloud twisted to look at the redhead, concern on his face before he pushed the Materia against Genesis’s chest. The sound he made was distressed as the emotion permeated Genesis’s senses.

“Shh…” Genesis purred gently, watching as Cloud slowly calmed down, though there was still distress showing on his face. “I have another one in my tent. Do you want me to go grab it? So you can see?”

Cloud nodded in agreement, trembling softly.

“Come on,” Genesis said, shifting to stand up. “You can come with me and I’ll show you.”

Cloud pressed as close as he could, clutching the Materia close to his chest as they walked out of the tent. Genesis wrapped a protective arm around him, glaring at anyone who even dared look over at the omega. He hated that he couldn’t do this with Sephiroth, but he could definitely scare off any potential Alphas from the blond.

The trek was only twenty steps away, but it was still enough that Cloud was trembling as they walked inside. Genesis set him on the cot in the corner of the tent before going over to his chest that contained his Materia. He pulled out a cure along with an extra bracer and an All materia. Turning around, he saw Cloud looking curiously – he had only ever seen the inside of Sephiroth’s tent, the mess hall, and the tent they used to plan their next move. Another living space was completely new for him.

“This is where Angeal and I stay,” Genesis told him.

Cloud startled at the sudden sound of the alpha’s voice, though there wasn’t as much fear as there normally was. The fact that Cloud felt safe with him and was getting used to him made Genesis want to cuddle the omega even more.

He walked walked over and sat down on the cot, holding out the bracer and asking, “Can you put this on?”

Cloud hesitantly nodded, carefully taking it before looking at Genesis for permission. When he got a nod, he slipped it on his wrist.

“This is mine and you can have that one. So we both can have one.”

He could see the gears turning in the omega’s head before Cloud reluctantly slipped the materia into the bracer. He gave a questioning sound, tilting his head to the side, unsure of what Genesis wanted him to do.

“Here’s this one too so you can help more people.”

“P-pro-tect?”

“Did Seph tell you that?” Cloud nodded in agreement. “He said you have to be able to protect yourself before you can go with him?”

Another nod with a frown and a sad sound.

“Do you want me to teach you?”

Cloud starting to panic was not the response that Genesis had expected, but he knew he should have. Those words together had obviously triggered something in him. His arms immediately wrapped around the omega, purring and shushing him as he stroked his hair. He kissed his head, nuzzling him to show that he was safe. He was trying to give him as much comfort as he could.

He eventually calmed down, falling asleep in Genesis’s arms as the alpha sighed in relief. He continued to nuzzle him, though the purring had stopped as soon as the omega was asleep.

They stayed like that until Angeal walked in, pausing in surprise to see Cloud in their tent with Genesis though he didn’t say anything about it.

“What happened?”

Genesis frowned, staring down at the omega asleep in his lap as he whispered, “He had a panic attack when I… I offered to teach him to protect himself and… Goddess, ‘Geal. What did they do to him?”

Angeal sat down on the cot across from him as Sephiroth and Zack both walked in. Genesis could see the concern on all of their faces as they watched him before he rubbed at his eyes and realized that he was crying. Sure, he was an emotional person, which for an Alpha wasn’t always looked upon as a good thing, but he had never cried over anyone besides his mates. This little omega was tugging on him in ways that he couldn’t explain and it scared him. Everything about this omega and the situation they were in terrified him.

Sephiroth took the space next to Genesis and started nuzzling him, a small whine escaping the omega’s throat at seeing his Alpha so upset. Genesis shifted to wrap his arm around Sephiroth and hold him close.

“What happened while we were gone?” Zack asked once Genesis had calmed down enough that he wasn’t in tears anymore. “It was only a couple hours.”

“He seems to like materia,” Genesis told them. “He said that it was warm, but he had a panic attack when I offered for him to keep mine. I-I think he was afraid that I would be hurt and not have it around to heal myself. That’s why we came here so I could show him I had another cure.”

“And the bracer?” Angeal asked in amusement.

“I offered it so he could have the materia with him at all times if he wanted. I brought up what Seph told him about needing to be able to protect himself before he could leave camp. When I offered to teach him, he… he… those monsters hurt him so much. I should have incinerated them right then and there instead of letting the Turks have them.”

“We’ll have to claim him soon,” Angeal said, looking at the blond still asleep in Genesis’s arms. “Especially if the war’s going to be over.”

“But he-”

“Angeal is right,” Sephiroth said, cutting off Zack’s objection. “Normally I wouldn’t agree if he couldn’t consent, but it’s either he gets claimed or he risks the strong possibility of being forced into Hojo’s grasp.”

There was a shift in Genesis’s arms as Cloud woke up, rubbing his eyes and looking around. He chirped in question as he curled up against Genesis, content to just remain in the alpha’s hold.

“I apologize for scaring you,” Genesis softly said, nuzzling the blond locks. “I won’t ever hurt you, Cloud.”

The omega nuzzled Genesis’s chest, chirping happily.

Zack frowned as he said, “I still don’t like doing this when he can’t consent.”

“Let’s give it a few more days,” Angeal suggested. “That way we can see how he fits with our dynamic, not that it’s normal with us here.”

Sephiroth stood up, making a comment about needing to call Lazard and explain the situation to get an idea of what their director wanted done about Wutai. He left with Angeal, neither of them saying anything before Cloud gave a sad whimper.

“Do you want to go with them?” Genesis asked.

“I-I go?”

“Of course you can,” Zack piped up with a grin. “I’ll come too.”

Cloud looked up at Genesis for permission, the redhead nodding as he said, “I won’t stop you. And you have the materia if you need it.”

Cloud’s fingers wrapped around the bracer on his wrist, giving a questioning sound. Genesis nodded in agreement.

The little omega stood up and looked hesitantly at Zack who smiled at him. He glanced back at Genesis, unsure of going with the other Alpha. To him, Genesis was the one who protected him when Sephiroth couldn’t. Genesis was the Alpha in his mind even if he didn’t completely understand the terms or what it truly meant.

“Zack will keep you safe for me,” Genesis promised.

There was a soft sound of sadness, causing the redhead to stand up and run his fingers through the blond’s hair one last time.

“You’ll be okay and I’ll meet you over there once I finish some things.”

Cloud made a happy noise, leaning into the touch before looking at Zack who grinned and held out his hand. After a moment’s hesitation, Cloud grabbed hold of the dark haired Alpha’s hand, clutching it tightly as they left the tent. His gaze darted around nervously, trying to avoid catching the gaze of any of the alphas they passed.

They were in an empty area when suddenly a group of men came up towards them. He pressed closer to the Alpha, trembling fearfully as he heard the loud laughter as they walked up.

“Hey, Fair,” one of the men said, his gaze on Cloud. “How’d you get the General to share his new omega toy with you?”

“He’s not a toy,” Zack snarled.

“So you don’t disagree that he’s sharing the omega with you,” the second said with a grin. “C’mon, I’m sure he won’t mind the omega being passed around the camp. There are a lot of guys who’ve been eyeing him.”

Cloud trembled, clinging to Zack as he stared fearfully at the Alphas, glancing back to see two others coming closer.

“We’ll make sure we’re real nice,” one of the men behind them said.

Cloud squeezed his eyes shut, not seeing the orb on his wrist glow before hearing a shout and opening them to see the Alphas surrounding them frozen. He trembled, continuing to cling to Zack and not realizing that the Alpha he was with was staring at him in shock.

“Zack.”

Cloud jumped at Angeal’s voice coming out of nowhere before seeing the Alpha. Cloud whimpered in fear as he collapsed onto the ground, trembling as his breath began coming quicker. He couldn’t hear what was being said but could feel others nearby him, causing him to cry out in distress for help.

“Shh,” a soothing voice said as a hand gently ran through his hair. “You’re safe. You’re safe, Cloud.”

He blinked, looking up at Angeal as his breathing started evening out.

“There you go,” the Alpha continued, not stopping the touch of his hair. There was a soft rumble of a purr coming from the bigger man. “You’re doing so well.”

The omega whimpered, throwing himself onto Angeal the same as he’d done to Sephiroth a few times when he’d been absolutely terrified. He clung to the man, nuzzling his chest as he hid his face and his tears. Angeal was safe, he had been told this multiple times and this proved it.

“Can you walk?” Angeal asked. Cloud shook his head, clinging harder before crying out in surprise as he was picked up. “Easy, you’re okay. I’m taking you to Sephiroth’s tent. You’ll be safe there.”

Cloud gave a questioning sound.

“You’re so brave,” Angeal mumbled as they walked inside the tent.

Cloud continued clinging to him, refusing to let go even as Sephiroth, Zack, and Genesis walked in. They all came over, checking over to make sure he was safe, Sephiroth and Genesis both looking in concern at the fact that he was clinging so tightly.

“Tseng is keeping the troopers with him and will fly out once Veld arrives,” Sephiroth explained. “They were drunk but it does not excuse their actions.”

“Both Lazard and the fat bastard are flying out here as well,” Genesis said with a scowl.

“Why are either of them coming?” Angeal question. “Veld I understand, but those two-”

“Lazard wants us to overthrow Godo by the end of the week and it’s likely Heidegger wants the PR.”

Angeal nodded with a sigh of defeat as Cloud looked around at them with a questioning sound. All of the progress they had made with the omega had all been for naught after what had just transpired. Lazard and Veld wouldn’t care that they had Cloud with him and had taken him into their pack, but Heidegger… he wasn’t going to make it easy for any of them. He would want to use the omega for show as some display of how horrible Wutai was and that was something that none of them would stand for.

“When are they coming?”

“They’ll be here by end of day tomorrow.”

They all exchanged looks at that before Genesis knelt down and asked, “Cloud, do you want to stay with us?”

“Stay?” Cloud repeated, confusion heard in his small voice.

“Stay with us,” Genesis repeated. “We’ll protect you and you never have to be alone again.”

Cloud hesitated, looking at all of them with the first hopeful look they had ever seen on him. When he didn’t see any sign of a trick from them, he started to cry, launching himself from Angeal’s lap into Genesis’s arms and nodding in agreement.

“We’re going to mark you as ours,” Genesis softly said, kissing the blond locks. “You won’t have to be afraid anymore.”

“There’s something I want to know first.” They all looked at Sephiroth, Cloud peaking out from where his face was buried against Genesis’s chest. “Where did Cloud get a Stop Materia?”

Cloud frowned, shifting so he could show the bracer with the Materia in it. He didn’t like how upset Sephiroth sounded and wanted to show him that he had Materia. Was it not okay that Genesis had given it to him? He didn’t want Genesis to get hurt even though none of them had harmed him before.

“He only has the cure I gave him,” Genesis explained.

“Zack said that he doesn’t have one and-”

“I saw a materia in Cloud’s bracer light up,” Zack said with a frown. “But it doesn’t look like one to cast status spells.”

Genesis frowned as he asked, “Can I see your materia, Cloud? I promise I’ll give it back as soon as I show them.”

“B-bad?” Cloud asked, his voice shaking in worry.

“You weren’t bad,” Genesis assured him. “But I have to show them.”

Cloud whimpered as he pulled out the materia, his hand shaking as he passed it over. Genesis took it and studied it with a frown before tossing it over to Sephiroth who stared at it. Cloud looked fearfully at all the alphas, afraid that they would hurt him if they found out what happened.

He didn’t know how to tell them that sometimes that just happened. Sometimes materia did things it wasn’t supposed to when he touched it. They would be mad and give him back to the Alphas who hurt him. Or they would hurt him themselves and he didn’t want that. He wanted them to protect him and let him stay like he had been told.

“Cloud?” He flinched, peering at Sephiroth in question. “You’re not in trouble, I promise. But to protect you, we need to know. Did you freeze the Alphas who tried to attack you and Zack?”

He tensed before slowly and hesitantly nodding in answer.

“Do you have another materia besides the one Genesis gave you?”

He shook his head, burying his face back into Genesis’s chest.

Genesis’s fingers were in the omega’s hair again as the redhead asked, “Can you do that with other materia too?”

“B-bad.”

“No, not bad,” Genesis assured him. “Just a surprise is all.”

He felt another hand on his back before hesitantly looking up Angeal curiously. “Please don’t tell anyone else about this, okay? It would make bad people want you.”

“Hojo?” Zack asked.

“Everyone in the science department,” came the answer from Sephiroth.

“S-se-cret?”

“Our secret,” Angeal agreed with a kind smile.

Cloud reached out and Angeal moved closer so he could hug him tightly from where he was in Genesis’s arms. They weren’t sending him away and they were wanting to protect him. This was everything he had always hoped for. He just hoped that he wouldn’t ever wake up from this dream.


	4. Chapter 4

Cloud was woken by movement against him, yawning as he saw Sephiroth get up. He didn’t understand why the silver haired man got up so early, but he knew that the other Alphas got up this early so he wasn’t surprised. He was always allowed to stay in the bed for as long as he wanted though and he was still scared that they were going to get rid of him.

What he wasn’t expecting was Angeal and Genesis to come into the room with two plates of food. He pretended to remain asleep as they set the food down, hearing Genesis walk over to the bed and sit down on the edge next to him.

“Gen-”

“We all know you’re awake, little omega,” Genesis said, putting his hand on the blond hair and making Cloud flinch. “Are you hungry?”

“Mad?” Cloud quietly asked, peering out from under the blanket.

“About yesterday?” Genesis clarified, getting a nod in response. “We’re not mad at you. We’re mad at the Alphas who tried to hurt you, but they’re going away and you don’t have to worry about them anymore.”

The blond omega slowly sat up, still avoiding everyone’s gazes as he did so, curling up on the cot. He curled up, pulling his knees to his chest as he sat there, even as Sephiroth walked over and sat next to him, purring softly as he nuzzled the blond spikes.

“We just got news that they’ll be here by noon,” Angeal said, looking between the two omegas. “Zack agreed that we need to do it now."

Sephiroth nodded in agreement as Cloud looked curiously at them. Genesis looked down at Cloud and said, “We’re going to make you ours. You understand that, right?”

“Safe,” Cloud said, looking between the three older males.

“That’s right,” Genesis agreed, leaning down to kiss his head. “You’re safe with us.”

“We’re all going to bite you right here,” Sephiroth said, his fingers stroking the scent glands on Cloud’s neck. “Or rather Genesis, Angeal, and Zackary will.”

“H-hurt?”

“Just for a moment,” Angeal promised. “To make sure everyone knows that you’re protected.”

Cloud frowned at that, not knowing what to think. He also didn’t understand what the bites were for, but they sounded not too scary when it meant that he was safe and no one would hurt him again.

“Where is Zackary?” Sephiroth spoke up.

“Wutai decided to try and ambush some of our troops so Zack went to stop them,” Angeal explained. “Meaning you’ll have to-”

“I…”

Angeal pulled a chair over and sat down, his fingers reaching out to stroke Sephiroth’s cheek. The general’s eyes were full of fear and they knew that he was afraid of what would happen if anyone found out the truth about him. Fear of what _Hojo_ would do if he found out that anyone besides Angeal, Genesis, and Zack knew. There were a few SOLDIERs who had proved themselves worthy of the knowledge, but Troopers were easier to blackmail for information.

“They won’t be able to smell it,” Angeal promised. “And we’ll have Zackary claim him once he returns.”

“I can’t…”

“You _can_ do this. I know you can. This will all be over soon and then we can properly restate our claim once we return home.”

“It has been too long,” Genesis agreed.

Cloud made a concerned noise as he crawled from Genesis’s lap to Sephiroth’s, nuzzling and nipping at the older omega’s chin. He had only ever seen this omega as strong and didn’t like seeing him upset. He would protect Sephiroth just like they were doing for him.

“S-safe,” Cloud stuttered out, continuing to nuzzle his jaw.

Genesis smiled gently, saying, “Even Cloud wants you to be okay.”

Sephiroth stared at the blond with a tearful look before he wrapped his arms around him and clung to him, trying to not start crying. He had a military to run and even if Lazard knew the truth, Heidegger did not and he would never know. He couldn’t let anyone but his pack see him like this. Not when it could get back to Hojo.

“Do you want to go first?” Angeal asked, rubbing his shoulder. “Get it out of the way?”

Sephiroth nodded mutely, shifting to press his face into the juncture of Cloud’s neck before biting down. He forced himself to pierce through the skin even as fear and panic spiked the air around them.

Cloud cried out more in surprise than in pain as he felt, though he couldn’t help the fear and panic at what was happening. He didn’t know what Sephiroth was doing and it terrified him, even if Genesis had said something about biting him. He had heard the bad Alphas talking about biting him a lot when they were hurting him but he never knew what that meant.

After a moment, the pain turned more pleasant, lasting only a moment before Sephiroth was pulling away, making an apologetic sound. Cloud nuzzled his cheek, letting their scents mingle before a hand was placed on his back. He looked over in confusion at Genesis.

“Are you okay?” Angeal asked Sephiroth.

The omega nodded in agreement, wiping the tears from his eyes. Cloud was moved onto Genesis’s lap while Angeal lifted up Sephiroth and moved him as well so they were each sitting in an Alpha’s lap. Cloud made a worried noise as he watched Angeal press Sephiroth’s head against his throat.

“He’s okay,” Genesis softly promised. “Does your throat hurt?”

Cloud shook his head, still more concerned with Sephiroth being upset than he was about himself. Genesis smiled in amusement as he tilted the blond’s head to have access to his neck. He bit down, listening to the gasp of surprise before he felt Cloud’s body slump against him, whining weakly.

Sephiroth made a sound of concern in response to Cloud’s reaction. Genesis pulled away after a moment and looked to see Cloud staring at him with the same blissed expression that Sephiroth had when they first claimed him. He just chuckled as he lay Cloud on the bed, cautious of harming him regardless of the fact that he had just as much mako in his system as they did.

“Want to trade?” Genesis asked Angeal in a teasing tone.

Angeal hummed thoughtfully as Sephiroth shifted off his lap, Genesis pulling the silver haired man as close to him as possible. He whispered in the omega’s ear, listing off all the ways he was going to make things better once they were back in Midgar. Sephiroth’s shiver of anticipation made him grin as he kept his eyes on Angeal even as he teased their omega.

When Angeal pulled away, Cloud gave a weak whimper, reaching out for the larger man to come back. Angeal chuckled as he sat back down in his seat, allowing Cloud to sit on his lap as he ran his fingers through the blond hair. Cloud was content to nuzzle Angeal’s throat, attempting and failing at trying to figure out how to purr.

“Who’s going to stay with him while we’re with Lazard?” Sephiroth asked.

“Zack can,” came Angeal’s answer. “Though I’m certain Lazard will want to meet him.” He looked down at Cloud. “You both should eat though, Seph. It’s probably cooled by now, but you both need food.”

Sephiroth nodded, getting out of Genesis’s lap and going to grab the food from the nearby table. He handed the plate to Cloud, the blond omega taking a slice of bread and nibbling on it as he glanced nervously at the others. It had been the same thing every time Cloud ate since arriving. They didn’t know that he had his food taken away after a couple bites. They didn’t know that he had been starved so many times because he wouldn’t do what the scientists wanted.

“No one is going to take it from you,” Genesis promised.

“No?” Cloud repeated, tilting his head to the side curiously.

“Never,” Angeal agreed.

Cloud hesitantly reached out and took a grape, eyeing them cautiously as he popped it into his mouth like he didn’t believe them. He didn’t know how much it broke the Alphas’ hearts to see the reminders of how he was treated. They had both agreed the night before that they would always ensure their apartment was stocked with snacks that Cloud could get to at any time.

They stayed like that until Cloud was finished eating when Zack came in with a yawn. He grinned at them as he walked over and kissed Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth before ruffling Cloud’s hair and nuzzling against him.

“How did everything go?” Angeal asked.

“Fine. Nothing abnormal.”

Angeal motioned for Zack to come over, saying, “We need you to mark Cloud.”

Zack nodded, looking at Cloud with a serious expression. Even after they’d left the two omegas for the night, Zack had to be talked into marking Cloud as their pack. He had been so concerned about Cloud’s consent, but he had come around in the end. He knew that they had to protect Cloud from Shinra and this was the best way.

“Sad?” Cloud asked, looking at Zack in concern.

“I wish we could do this differently,” Zack sighed, shaking his head. “But this is to keep you safe.”

Angeal gently nudged Cloud to tilt his head and give Zack access to him. Cloud closed his eyes as Zack leaned in, breathing against his neck as he made sure to line up the bite mark nearly on top of Sephiroth’s. He hated that they had to do this, especially because he was sure it messed with Sephiroth having to mark another omega when it wouldn’t have the same connection. But they had all been marked by him more for show than anything else.

He bit down, forcing himself to bite even harder instead of pulling away when Cloud gasped. He had done this before and knew what to expect, but it was still hard not to pull away and ensure the omega was okay.

He pulled back before Cloud started nuzzling his jaw with a soft trill of happiness. The Alphas all smiled at his reaction, knowing that he was going to be cuddly for the rest of the day.

The sudden sound of Sephiroth’s PHS ringing got everyone’s attention. Cloud frowned, watching as Sephiroth sighed and got off the bed to grab it. He had learned that the sound meant that Sephiroth had to pretend to be an Alpha like Genesis, Angeal, and Zack. Cloud made a wounded sound as he had done every time he saw Sephiroth do this the past couple of days, not liking how upset the other omega was.

“I know,” Zack assured him. “I don’t like it either.”

“We have to go,” Angeal said, looking between the two youngest members of their pack. “Are you okay staying here, Puppy?”

Zack nodded in agreement, saying, “Yeah, I can take a nap since you decided to send me out at three in the morning.”

Angeal smiled as he leaned down and kissed Zack before kissing the top of Cloud’s head. “Be good for Zack and we’ll be back soon.”

Cloud whined, watching as both Sephiroth and Genesis came over to say goodbye before the three First Class SOLDIERs left. Zack pulled Cloud onto the cot, kissing his head as he asked, “Are you okay taking a nap with me?”

Cloud nuzzled against him, listening to Zack’s purr before mimicking it. He still didn’t understand why they made the noise or how he could too, but it made them happy and them making the sound made him happy as well.

He snuggled with Zack, relaxing in the hold as the Alpha slept when there was suddenly a sound, causing him to tense. He whimpered, curling up tighter against Zack as he didn’t recognize a loud voice that was right outside. He did recognize the other voice as someone Zack knew, but he wasn’t sure what was going on. He wasn’t sure if he was even allowed to wake up Zack so he could protect him.

“Cloud?” Zack tiredly asked, his arm wrapping tighter around him. “What’s wrong?”

_“Do you know who I am?”_ a loud voice angrily demanded, causing Cloud to flinch and tremble as he tried to make himself as small as possible.

Zack cursed softly as he sat up, pulling Cloud close to him as he pulled out his PHS and sent a message to Angeal. He grabbed the blanket off the bed and wrapped it around Cloud, kissing his head before walking outside and leaving Cloud alone.

As soon as he was alone, Cloud’s eyes darted around in fear before he moved with the blanket to curl up on the ground under the cot. It was extremely uncomfortable, but none of the Alphas could get him there. He could hide and be safe right there.

There were more voices before Cloud flinched at the sound of footsteps inside the tent. He pulled the blanket even tighter around himself, a whimper escaping as he saw boots on the floor right in front of him. As soon as he saw the familiar red coat, he crawled out seconds before he was pulled into the familiar embrace, Genesis nuzzling him.

“I know,” Genesis whispered as Cloud tried to bury himself in the Alpha’s arms. “You’re safe, no one can take you from us.”

The flap of the tent opened again as Angeal asked, “How is he?”

“Frightened,” came the answer. “He was hiding under Sephiroth’s cot.”

“Veld threatened Heidegger that no one would find the body if he tried to come near Cloud again.”

Genesis nodded as Cloud peered over at Angeal cautiously as he felt the familiar hand in his hair. He nuzzled into Angeal’s hand, making a sad noise.

“I know,” Angeal softly assured him. “I know you’re scared.”

Sephiroth and Zack came in then along with two men that Cloud didn’t recognize. He gave a cry of distress as he curled up into an even tighter ball. Genesis held onto him, not letting him go as he trembled.

“Cloud,” Sephiroth said, looking at the boy. “You’re going to Genesis and Zack tomorrow morning.”

“Go?” Cloud repeated, tilting his head in confusion.

“They’re going to take you somewhere far away from here,” Sephiroth continued. “Somewhere safe.”

“You go?”

“Angeal and I will remain here.”

Cloud gave a distressed cry as he moved from Genesis’s lap and ran the few steps forward, clinging to Sephiroth tightly. He didn’t want to leave the other omega here when there were bad people who would hurt him. He felt the familiar arms wrap around him as he trembled, trying to not cry. He didn’t want these strangers to see him cry even though he was scared.

“We’ll be right behind you,” Angeal promised. “It will be like when Sephiroth has to go and you stay here, only you’ll be going instead.”

“Come back?”

“Of course,” Sephiroth agreed, nuzzling him. “We’ll always come back.” Cloud sniffled, clinging tightly to Sephiroth in a tight hug. “We can even spend tonight together as a pack.”

Cloud nodded in agreement, nipping at Sephiroth’s jaw before Veld spoke up and said, “There’s still the other topic we need to discuss.”

“Tonight,” Angeal stated, leaving no room for objection. “After he calms down some.”

Veld nodded in concession, turning and leaving the tent.

“What do we need to discuss?” Zack asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“Nothing that you need to worry about right now,” came Genesis’s answer. “Right now, we just need to focus on our little omegas. We can worry about everything else later.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little change of pace and some Sephiroth POV for this one.

Sephiroth stood next to Angeal and Genesis as they waited for the helicopter to land. He didn’t like the fact that any of them were coming, though he knew at least one of them could hold their own on the island. Veld had been a Turk himself before becoming the director of Administrative Research, though Sephiroth couldn’t understand why exactly he was coming. Even Lazard he could deal with considering he was the Director of SOLDIER and understood how things worked. Heidegger, they all had agreed, was only there for the publicity.

“Hopefully this will be fast,” Genesis sighed.

The helicopter began its descent as Sephiroth nodded in agreement. He just wanted to return to the tent and spend more time with Cloud, especially knowing that he wouldn’t be able to as much now that there was a Director here who didn’t know his true designation.

_“No one on all of Gaia would ever want an omega leading them.”_

He shook his head slightly to clear it from the words Hojo had ingrained into his mind so long ago. Those troopers just proved that majority of the world still believed omegas to be nothing but a source for reproduction and entertainment. The few SOLDIERs who knew were ones that had proven themselves worthy of the information, more loyal to Sephiroth than to Shinra – there was also Zack’s friend Kunsel who had found out on his own, but he’d proven himself time and again.

“Are you alright?” Genesis asked.

“I’m fine,” came the lie.

He could feel the eyes of both his Alphas on him as the helicopter landed. He kept his face blank as Heidegger stepped off with Lazard and Veld following behind. As soon as he saw Heidegger looking around, he instantly knew why the Director of Public Safety was there and it made his blood boil. The man was solely there because he wanted to use Cloud as the reason they had to get rid of Wutai’s empire.

“Gentlemen,” Lazard said with a nod.

“Director Lazard,” Sephiroth replied. “Director Verdot.”

“Where is this omega I’ve heard so much about?” Heidegger asked.

“He’s somewhere safe,” came Angeal’s calm answer. “You don’t need to worry yourself about him, Director Heidegger.”

“Nonsense.” He looked over at one of the troopers. “You, go get the omega for me.”

“No,” Sephiroth coldly stated, causing the trooper to freeze. “Unless you want to end up like your friends and return to Midgar with the Turks.”

“There’s no need for such threats,” Heidegger said.

“I believe the threat is valid,” Tseng spoke up from nearby. “Considering the omega is was claimed by Sephiroth himself.”

“Our pack claimed him,” Sephiroth corrected.

He saw the look Lazard and Veld look at him, but he didn’t acknowledge it. He just stared Heidegger down, refusing to back down from the larger man. He knew that Angeal’s expression would mirror his own blank one while Genesis would be looking on the verge of murdering the man.

“Why don’t we go into the camp where things are more secure,” Lazard suggestion.

The General just nodded in agreement, allowing his feet to carry him back to the camp while Genesis walked to the right and a step behind and Angeal carried up the rear behind the three directors. He kept his face blank, the troopers all jumping out of his way as they saw his expression while the SOLDIERs just glanced over before going back to what they were doing. The SOLDIERs were the ones who knew that he was angry at something and that they weren’t in any danger.

As soon as they were inside the tent they used, Heidegger asked, “Did you really need to court martial those Troopers?”

“They were threatening an omega,” Genesis coldly answered. “Let alone an omega they knew was _ours._ That is _not_ how our troops are trained to behave.”

It was only Sephiroth’s training that kept him from stabbing the man as he laughed and made a comment about how he didn’t blame the troopers if the omega was good lucking. Genesis lunged at the man, causing Angeal and Sephiroth to both grab onto the redheaded Alpha. Angeal’s voice telling Genesis to calm down was loud enough for Sephiroth to make a soft noise. As soon as Genesis heard the noise that was just for him, he relaxed his muscles though the two other Firsts kept their grip on him.

Genesis nuzzled Sephiroth, taking in the familiar scent as they stood there. It was only when Heidegger left the tent with one of the other Turks that the redhead truly calmed down.

“Better?” Angeal asked.

Genesis nodded, though it was still stiff.

“”You both and Zackary?” Lazard questioned.

The two Firsts nodded in answer as Veld sighed. “This is going to make things difficult.”

“Why?” Genesis spit. “Because it will make it harder for people like Heidegger to-?”

“Sephiroth,” Lazard interrupted. “You’re aware that President Shinra has had some mistresses in the past.”

Sephiroth nodded in agreement as the two Alphas looked over in curiosity. He was well aware that Lazard was the result of one of those one night stands. There were also rumors of another of President Shinra’s son, though he hadn’t heard any confirmations about it. It also wasn’t likely that the president even knew majority of the children he had contributed DNA to.

“While we haven’t used the president’s own DNA, we do believe that the omega is one of his bastard children.”

Sephiroth tensed at those words, biting back a sound of distress. If Hojo and Shinra Sr found out, they would definitely try to take Cloud away from their pack. He knew that they were telling them this for a reason, but all he could think of was hiding Cloud away from all of them.

“There is no paper trail of this,” Veld assured them. “I made certain of this personally as well as have directed Tseng to destroy all trace of blood tests.”

“Why are you telling us this then?” Genesis questioned. “What’s even the point of doing the tests and telling us about it if-?”

“So he has the protection needed. If he was tortured by Wutai, the last thing he needs is having Hojo’s attention on him more than necessary.”

“Thank you for that information,” Angeal said with a nod.

Sephiroth stared between the two Alphas as Genesis asked, “Gil for your thoughts?”

“I think… perhaps it would be better to send Cloud back to Midgar.” He could feel all four sets of eyes on him. “Especially with Heidegger encouraging the troopers’ behavior.”

“I’ll take him,” Genesis volunteered, getting everyone’s attention. The fact that he was willing to leave the battlefield and return to Midgar so close to the end of the war when he could very well become the “hero” of the war proved just how much of an impact Cloud had on him. “The puppy and I can head back to Midgar with him and some of the troops now that the war is nearly over.”

Sephiroth watched Genesis, seeing a determined expression more than he’d ever seen before on the redheaded Alpha when Angeal’s PHS began ringing, getting their attention. As soon as he pulled it up, his expression darkened and he walked out without a word. Sephiroth and Genesis exchanged a look before following him out even as they sensed Lazard and Veld following behind.

As they got closer to Sephiroth’s tent, Heidegger demanding to be let in and see the Alpha could be heard. Sephiroth’s expression darkened the same as he knew Angeal and Genesis’s were.

“I’m aware of who you are, but the only ones allowed in the General’s tent are his pack,” came the response from Luxiere.

There were shouts of how Heidegger was going to court martial the SOLDIER ensure that he disappear into the science department.

Zack stepped out of the tent at the same time they arrived at the commotion. All of the Troopers and SOLDIERs stepped aside to let them through before Luxiere moved to attention and saluted them.

“Dismissed,” Sephiroth stated, causing everyone in the vicinity to disappear.

Heidegger turned to face the SOLDIERs and two other Directors as Lazard stepped forward and said, “There are rules for a reason, Heidegger.”

Genesis walked into the tent, ignoring the conversation as Sephiroth stood flush against Angeal to keep the Alpha calm. It took a lot for Angeal to show any sort of anger and the fact that the fury rolling off of him made the omega in Sephiroth want to go out of his way to calm his Alpha down meant that it was bad. He was obviously holding himself back from murdering this Beta who thought that he was the top of the food chain.

“If you even try to force your way into any tent again, let alone one with a defenseless omega, I will ensure that your body will never be found.”

Sephiroth took a deep breath as he watched Heidegger storm off before motioning for Angeal to go into the tent. He needed the calming presence from an omega who could actually do it and not someone like Sephiroth who was worthless as one.

He watched as Veld directed one of his Turks to take the man to the tent he’d be staying and not to allow Heidegger to wander the encampment alone. As soon as he was gone, Zack walked over and entwined his fingers with Sephiroth’s for a brief moment before pulling away. Sephiroth glanced down at the Alpha, a small smile of thanks gracing his lips before walking into the tent with Zack, Lazard, and Veld following.

As soon as he saw how terrified Cloud was, Sephiroth knew that they were making the right decision in sending him away despite how much he wanted the omega to stay with him. It helped him mentally having Cloud around and being able to be himself with the blond there, but he knew it wasn’t safe. It wasn’t safe in a place where it wasn’t only Wuta after him.

“Cloud.” He watched as the other omega watched him curiously. “You’re going with Genesis and Zack tomorrow morning.”

“Go?” Cloud echoed, clearly confused.

“They’re going to take you somewhere far away from here,” he continued to explain, though he wasn’t certain the other omega was comprehending exactly what he was saying. “Somewhere safe.”

“You go?”

Oh how Sephiroth wanted to give an affirmative answer that he would be going home to. It was times when he was away for long periods such as these that he wanted to give into his base instincts. He wanted to be able to build a nest and hide away from the world with his pack.

“Angeal and I will remain here.”

The reaction he received from those words wasn’t what he was expecting in the slightest. From the looks of everyone else, it wasn’t what they were expecting either. Cloud got up from the safety of an Alpha’s lap and ran over, his fingers gripping Sephiroth’s jacket as he trembled in fear. Sephiroth frowned as he wrapped his arms around the smaller omega, holding onto him tightly. He didn’t want to send Cloud away either, but he didn’t know how to convey that without saying it outright.

Angeal always seemed to know the right thing to say and this was no exception. He explained that it was the same as Sephiroth going to a battle against Wutai and then following behind to Midgar.

“Come back?” Cloud asked, his voice shaking.

“Of course.” He nuzzled the omega, feeling Cloud’s arms wrap around him in a hug back. “We’ll always come back.” He wanted so badly to cry with Cloud, to show him that it was alright to let himself show emotions. He couldn’t do that here, though, and it hurt him. “We can even spend tonight together as a pack.”

Cloud leaned up to nip at Sephiroth’s jaw, only to freeze and tense when he heard Veld’s voice. Sephiroth nuzzled him, getting his attention away from the two Directors until they left the pack to their own devices. Once they were gone, Sephiroth made a soft sound of sadness, letting at least a little of his true self slip out.

“It will be okay,” Angeal assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder and rubbing it soothingly. Sephiroth leaned into the touch, a soft sigh escaping his mouth. “We’ll all be home soon.”

“Gen and I will go make sure things are running smoothly,” Zack volunteered. “You guys spend tonight with Cloud since… well…”

Of course Zack didn’t want to let Cloud hear him say that they didn’t know how long it would be until Sephiroth and Angeal saw the blond again. Sephiroth didn’t want to hear it either and was glad that Zack avoided saying it out loud. It was easier this way.

As soon as they were gone, Angeal looked between the two before sitting down on the bed and motioning Sephiroth to follow. The silver haired omega sat down, Cloud on his lap even as he curled up against Angeal himself. He let his Alpha pull him into his hold, the three of them just relaxing as Angeal hummed some tune that Sephiroth knew was from the man’s childhood. He’d said that his mother would sing it to put him to bed at times.

Sephiroth let himself fall into a dazed state, a small purr coming from him as he lay there, content with half of his pack. It would have been better with all of them, but he knew better. They needed at least one First out there with the troops.

A sudden pain in his shoulder and a distressed cry from Cloud shot Sephiroth out of the comfort of his pack, causing him to sit up and look around in confusion. He could feel Angeal’s gaze on both of the omegas as Cloud curled in on himself.

“Genesis…”

The name came out of Sephiroth’s mouth in a distressed whimper and he knew from Angeal’s expression that he understood. Alphas and omegas were connected in a way that Alphas could feel if their omegas were injured and omegas could do the same.

Angeal got up and walked out of the tent, Sephiroth following shortly after with Cloud clinging onto him. As soon as he was out of the tent, Kunsel approached and explained that they had received word from one of their Moles about a Wutai attack, but they had been ambushed in a way they’d never done before. They had released Leviathan to attack Shinra’s military and Genesis had been right in the line of fire.

Sephiroth looked down at Cloud, saying, “Go back to the tent.”

Of course the blond omega was most stubborn right now when Genesis was in danger. Sephiroth knew he couldn’t take him onto the battlefield, not when he was still wanted by Wutai. He would just be sending him to his death.

“Help.”

“You can help when Genesis gets back here,” Sephiroth argued. “I need you to go back to the tent and wait.”

“I help.”

The General sighed in frustration at the stubbornness, though he shouldn’t be surprised. Their entire pack was comprised of stubborn Alphas plus Sephiroth so it made sense that the newest member of their pack was just as much.

“Cloud, right?” Kunsel asked, causing Cloud to grip onto Sephiroth’s arm tighter. “I’m a friend of Zack’s, remember?”

“Seph,” Angeal called, getting the silver haired omega’s attention. “What’s…?” Sephiroth silently glanced down at Cloud. “You hold things down here in case they decide our encampment is a good target.”

Sephiroth nodded in agreement, despite the frustration of wanting to go himself. He was the one they were all afraid of. He was the Demon of Wutai who they would all fear, but he was an omega and even if Angeal’s words sounded like a suggestion, they were an order. And an order from his Alpha was not one that he could disobey.

Without another word, Angeal turned and left with a group of SOLDIERs and troopers.

Sephiroth looked down at Cloud before sighing in defeat and motioning for Kunsel to follow him. They went into the tent to find Lazard, Veld, Heidegger, and one of the Lieutenants over the troopers inside. He stood in front of Cloud, pushing the smaller omega protectively behind him as they walked over.

“What do we know?” he demanded.

He listened to the explanation, trying to ignore Heidegger’s gaze on Cloud as the blond stood curiously next to him. He’d listened in a couple of briefings, but nothing like this before.

“Should the omega be in here?” Heidegger questioned.

“Considering majority of his pack is out there and I do not trust any of your men,” came Sephiroth’s cold response.

He pulled up a chair and put Cloud in it, giving him a look that silently directed him to stay before he went back to his duties. He continued to give orders through the coms before he could hear that they found Genesis and Zack.

Cloud darted out of the tent with Sephiroth hot on his heels as soon as they heard exclamations of the return. He walked out to see men being carried in on stretchers, though they were all troopers. It seemed that the SOLDIERs had made it out of there with some non-life threatening injuries but nothing too bad. They had been lucky.

That’s when he saw Genesis walking in behind everyone and alongside Angeal and Zack. He looked tired, but fine despite the pain that Sephiroth and Cloud had both felt from him.

Cloud ran over and tackled Genesis into a hug, clinging to the Alpha even as Sephiroth had to hold his own instincts back. He stood silently as the three Alphas walked up to him and he nodded in greeting.

“I’m glad to see you’re safe,” Sephiroth told them, his voice barely staying even and only betraying his fear to his mates.

“Even if the morrow is barren of promises,” Genesis said, walking past Sephiroth even as the General caught the scent of his Alpha’s blood. “Nothing shall forestall my return.”


	6. Chapter 6

The rest of the night was spent with both omegas curled up against Genesis. Neither of them wanted to leave Genesis’s side after the scare and Angeal had offered to keep everyone away from the tent so Sephiroth could embrace the side of him he rarely could while they were on missions. Cloud had fallen asleep almost immediately once they laid down, leaving Genesis and Sephiroth to themselves.

“Are you sure you don’t want to be the one to return to Midgar?” Genesis asked, running his fingers through the omega’s hair.

“You can offer more protection as his Alpha,” Sephiroth quietly responded as though he was afraid someone would overhear.

Genesis kissed the silver hair. “Zackary would be there as well, but I understand your reasoning.”

“I can’t… Gen, I can’t see you like that again. I can’t feel…”

“It won’t happen again,” Genesis promised. “We won’t let it happen again.”

“I’m going to Wutai Village tomorrow. I’m going to end this now.”

Genesis nodded in acknowledgement as he started purring. The Alpha watched the older of two omegas begin to succumb to his exhaustion as well. As soon as both omegas were asleep, Genesis pulled out his PHS and messaged Angeal to see if he and Zack would pack up everything for him. He knew that he should be the one to do it, but Cloud had basically had a meltdown when Genesis tried to leave him before. Cloud had even had a panic attack when Sephiroth’s PHS went off, now equating the ringing of the devices to one of them being harmed.

He allowed himself to doze off as well though he kept waking himself up so he could ensure that no one tried to walk in on this. He wouldn’t dare allow anyone make Sephiroth uncomfortable by risking someone outside of the know finding out his true designation.

Cloud and Sephiroth both began to stir just before sunrise, Genesis basking in the comfort of having both the omegas all to himself. He wished so badly that he was able to take Sephiroth with them, but he knew better. Shinra had to show that it was the best and Sephiroth had to pretend to be something he wasn’t to satisfy the higher ups. What he wouldn’t give to be able to take both of his omegas away from all this fighting and politics.

“Gen?” Sephiroth mumbled, his voice still full of sleep. “What time is it?”

“Not sunrise yet,” he answered, kissing his omega’s head. “Go back to sleep. I’ll wake you when it’s time.”

“I love you,” the omega whispered, closing his eyes again.

“Love?” Cloud repeated, looking between them in confusion.

Genesis looked over at Cloud in surprise before he remembered that the blond omega was more like Sephiroth than they normally realized. Sephiroth had also been confused about what love meant, but he at least had an idea and could put it into context. Cloud had probably never heard the word or, if he did, it was before he came into Wutai’s grasp.

“It means that you like someone,” Genesis answered, kissing the blond hair. “That you care about them and want to make sure they’re safe and happy.”

“Love Cloud?”

Genesis smiled at the innocent question, agreeing, “I love Cloud very much.”

The terror from the day before seemed to disappear as a short stuttering purr came from the omega as he nuzzled his Alpha. Genesis glanced over as the tent flap opened and Angeal walked in, giving a small yawn as he appeared.

“You leave at 0700.”

“That’s not a lot of time,” Genesis sighed as he glanced at Sephiroth’s sleeping form.

“We’ll see you soon though,” Angeal said as Cloud slipped out of bed and went to nuzzle Angeal’s jaw. “Good morning.”

“Tired?” Cloud asked.

“I’ll be fine,” Angeal assured him, ruffling the blond hair. “Are you ready to leave?”

Cloud made a sad sound as he pressed against Angeal. The Alphas all knew that it would be difficult for Cloud once they left. He had been beside Sephiroth nearly constantly and it would devastate him to realize that he wouldn’t be around the other omega for a while. Genesis wasn’t even sure he was ready to deal with the meltdown the omega was sure to have.

“I know. But we’ll all be back together soon.”

Cloud chirped in response.

“How’s your shoulder?” Angeal asked, looking pointedly at the redhead.

“It’s fine. It wasn’t very deep.”

Angeal nodded as he walked over with Cloud so he could run his fingers through Sephiroth’s hair.

“Sad?”

“A little, but it will be okay.”

“You go?”

“I’m staying with Sephiroth while you go with Genesis and Zack.”

Cloud frowned at that, moving to lay back down and curl up against Sephiroth, the larger omega rolling over and wrapping his arm around the blond. Cloud let out a sound that sounded like a laugh as he snuggled closer.

“Don’t you dare take a picture,” Sephiroth grumbled as he pulled Cloud closer.

Angeal chuckled as he pulled out his PHS and took one anyways, sending it to Genesis and Zack. Genesis got out of the cot and stretched as he motioned for Angeal to lay down. He made the excuse of having to make sure everything was packed. Angeal took the other’s spot as he pulled both omegas against him.

It wasn’t nearly long enough before they were all standing on the landing pad, the rest of the SOLDIERs who were going back to Midgar already on the helicopter. Cloud was clinging to Sephiroth, looking fearfully at the giant machine they were telling him he had to get into. He wanted to stay with Sephiroth and make sure he was okay – he only saw the older omega smile when they were in the tent together or with one of the Alphas in their pack. He was worried that they would get hurt.

“We’ll see you soon, okay?” Angeal said, leaning down to kiss his bite mark on the blond omega’s throat. “Gen and Zack will keep you safe.”

“Safe?” Cloud repeated, looking at Sephiroth in concern.

Angeal smiled and said, “We’ll keep each other safe until we see you again.”

Cloud nodded even though he didn’t understand what Angeal had said other than they would be safe. He looked up at Sephiroth, who rested his hand on the blond locks in an attempt to give comfort while not succumbing to the nuzzling he truly wanted to give the smaller omega.

There was suddenly a shout before the sound of gunfire echoed the area. Cloud startled, whimpering in fear as Zack scooped him up and took him onto the helicopter. He peered out the doorway as Genesis sent a fireball into the trees.

“Go,” Sephiroth ordered, glancing at the redheaded Alpha.

 _“Don’t let them take the blond omega,”_ Cloud heard a shout come from the forest.

He cried out in distress as he watched men come out of the trees. Genesis ran into the helicopter and whistled, causing the large vehicle to start rising.

“No!” Cloud shouted, trying to get to Sephiroth and Angeal. The two were going to get hurt while he was taken away. “Back!”

“We can’t,” Zack said, refusing to let the omega out of his arms. “They’ll be okay, Cloud. I promise.”

“No!”

Cloud struggled to get out of the Alpha’s grasp, watching as Sephiroth and Angeal disappeared amongst the trees. He screamed and kicked and struggled, trying to get out of the hold. He had to go back, to help protect them as he felt the pain in his chest. Something was wrong, they were getting hurt and no one cared. Genesis and Zack didn’t care that they were being hurt, they were taking him away. They were taking him away and he would never see Angeal and Sephiroth again like everyone else who went away.

He eventually wore himself out, clinging to Zack as he sobbed into his Alpha’s chest. He would never be able to sit curled up in Angeal’s arms, the large Alpha bringing him food and cuddling him as he ate. He would never be able to sleep curled up with Sephiroth, never be able to make sure he was okay and happy even if he had to pretend to be wrong all the time.

“Shh,” Genesis said, rubbing the omega’s back as he knelt next to his two packmates. “It will be okay, I promise.”

“No,” came the weak response from the blond. No, nothing would be okay anymore.

“It doesn’t feel like it now but it will be.” Genesis kissed the blond spikes, his heart breaking as he sat on the ground with his packmates, one of them a distressed omega. “Let’s go sit in the seats and you can take a nap.”

Cloud held his arms out for the red Alpha who picked him up out of Zack’s arms and carried him over to the seats. The two Alphas sat down, neither mentioning how the SOLDIERs were shooting them questioning looks. The SOLDIERs all understood that the First Class SOLDIERs had claimed an omega they had saved from Wutai, but they didn’t know more than that.

Cloud eventually cried himself out, falling asleep with his arms around Genesis’s neck and his head on the Alpha’s chest. Genesis remained silent, staring at the wall across from him. He knew that there would be a meltdown, but he hadn’t expected it to last so long or for the sleep he had cast repeatedly to not have any effect on the omega. Was it the same way that Cloud had paralyzed the troopers? What else could he do if that was the case?

“My friend, the fates are cruel,” Genesis whispered, his voice barely audible to the SOLDIERs.

His gaze shot over in confusion as he heard multiple sighs of relief from the men. Zack just laughed as he saw the confusion on his mate’s face.

“They were asking if you were okay,” Zack explained. “You haven’t quoted Loveless once.”

Genesis just glared at all the men before turning his attention back to the sleeping omega in his arms. He had no doubt that Hojo would be waiting, insisting on taking a look at the omega. That was the biggest reason why Genesis was returning to Midgar instead of remaining in Wutai. He wouldn’t back down from Hojo’s insistence – he had a reputation for telling Hojo to fuck off when it came to the scientist wanting Sephiroth in the labs.

As soon as they arrived, Genesis shook the omega awake, watching the confusion as he rubbed his eyes. He tilted his head, obviously trying to hear the loud sound of the engine and rotor blades only to have silence.

“Back?” Cloud asked once he determined that they weren’t in the air anymore.

“No,” Genesis answered, hating to see the blond deflate at the answer. “You don’t ever have to go back there again.”

Cloud made a soft, sad sound as he buried his face back into Genesis’s chest.

“I think he’s upset that we’re not going back to Seph and ‘Geal,” Zack spoke up.

“Puppy, go make sure that Hojo’s not waiting out there,” Genesis ordered. “We’ll be out in a few minutes.”

Zack got up when Cloud made a distressed sound, reaching out for the Alpha.

“I’ll be right outside and when we can call Geal, ok?” Zack asked, ruffling the blond hair.

“You’ll still be able to hear him,” Genesis promised, kissing the blond hair.

Cloud sniffled, hiding his face again as tears slid down his cheeks. He didn’t want everyone to go away now that he had people who cared for him. Everyone always went away just like his Mama went away all those years ago. He didn’t tell the others that he remembered because he was scared that they would go away too. The bad people who hurt him went away, but now the ones he liked and were nice were all going away as well.

Genesis rubbed his back, purring softly to try and comfort the blond omega. He hated seeing him upset and he knew that if Angeal or even Sephiroth had been the ones to come, they would be able to comfort the omega better than he ever could. He knew what to do to calm Sephiroth down when they were around people or when they were alone with the rest of their pack. With Sephiroth, it was easy because it was those small touches that comforted him and he wouldn’t cry like this unless it was something really bad. With Cloud, though, this was entirely new territory despite spending just over a week around the blond.

Zack poked his head in a few minutes later, giving a grin with a thumbs up. As soon as Genesis saw him, he kissed Cloud’s head and softly said, “Let’s go, Cloud. We can get one of Seph’s blankets out for you and we can see if they’re available for a call.”

“Call?” Cloud repeated in confusion.

“Uh, yeah. Like how the ringtone goes off and we start talking to someone on our PHS.”

“We’ll explain later,” Genesis promised, helping Cloud stand up. “Let’s go. I want a shower and to stay in pajamas the rest of the day.”

Cloud clung to Genesis as they walked out, though his grip lessened as he looked around curiously at the landing pad and at the sky. All the metal and no trees was so different from what he had come to know with Wutai. There were no trees and they were so high up that nothing could be seen but sky.

“We have to go inside,” Zack told the blond. “But Gen and I will be with you the entire time.”

Cloud whined in fear but didn’t stop them as they took him inside. The only difference was that his grip had tightened once more. He was led to a small metal container, memories of being shoved into one and hurt flashed through his mind. He cried in distress, trembling as he collapsed onto the ground, quaking in fear. He felt like he couldn’t breathe, his chest and head both hurting so bad.

“Almost there,” Zack promised, scooping up the blond omega.

Cloud clung to him tightly, crying into his neck even as the doors opened and the two Alphas stepped out. Cloud could smell the familiar scents of Angeal and Sephiroth as they walked, causing him to whine as he peered out from where his face was hidden.

“Think Seph will mind if we use his place?” Zack asked.

Genesis hummed in response as unlocked the door to let them into the General’s apartment. Cloud calmed down significantly when he was overwhelmed with the scent of the General surrounding him. He looked around curiously for the other omega, wanting to make sure he was safe.

“Seph isn’t here,” Zack said, yawning.

Cloud gave a sad whine even as he was taken into a room and placed on a cot, but this was one bigger and softer than anything Cloud could ever remember being on. And it smelled like Sephiroth so it went a long way to calm Cloud down from the mess he’d been before.

“Get some sleep,” Zack softly said. “You can take a bath when you wake up.”

“Sleep?” Cloud asked, reaching out for the dark haired Alpha.

Zack climbed onto the cot with him and curled up, Cloud giving a short purr of contentment as he fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Genesis scowled as he sat in the science department across from Hollander. If it wasn’t for the fact that SOLDIERs were required to have a physical when they returned from Wutai on top of his shoulder still not healing and bleeding as much as it had when he’d first been sliced by Leviathan, he would have avoided the entire place. It was always cold and sterile, always making his hair stand on end.

“This will take a few hours to run the necessary tests,” Hollander said.

As soon as those words came out of the scientist’s words, Genesis was out of his chair and saying to call him when he had the results. He didn’t care that the scientist meant that he needed Genesis’s body, he hated being there and Cloud waiting for him made it even more crucial that he returned to the apartment.

He arrived at the apartment to find Zack curled up with Cloud on the couch, the omega focused solely on the television. Zack had turned on some movie that must have come out in the past couple months while Genesis was in Wutai since Zack didn’t seem engrossed in the movie as well.

“He didn’t have a TV before he was taken,” Zack explained upon seeing Cloud. “How was the appointment?”

“Hell,” Genesis answered, walking over and kissing Cloud on the head, causing the omega to look up in surprise. “Pause the movie, Zack.”

The other Alpha nodded and hit pause, causing Cloud to whine sadly at the loss. He didn’t understand why the image on the screen wasn’t movie and there wasn’t any sound.

“Let’s go get cleaned up,” Genesis said, holding his hand out to Cloud. “Zack promises to not turn the movie on until we finish.”

Cloud looked at Zack, who nodded in agreement before he accepted the offered hand. Genesis helped him stand up before taking him to a door and opening it. He walked in to see a toilet and a see-through wall that looked close enough to a mako tank that Cloud gave it a wide berth before he noticed a couple of steps and a large hole in the floor. It was white and there was a faucet on the side of it.

Genesis leaned over to turn the faucet on, letting Cloud watch it rise up as he added bubble bath to it. A smug part of him was glad that he was getting to make the blond omega smell like him. It was a satisfaction that he rarely got to have with Sephiroth, typically only when Sephiroth had an especially horrible appointment in the science department.

Cloud watched in awe as bubbles appeared in the water, rising with the water itself. He stuck his finger in before jerking it back in surprise that the bubbles didn’t do anything to him. In fact, they didn’t feel like anything at all.

“You can get in,” Genesis said with a smile.

Cloud hesitated before taking off his clothes and getting in, sliding down as he relaxed into the warm water. Genesis laughed as he watched him enjoying the bath. It was probably the first warm bath he’d had in who knew how long.

“You clean?” Cloud asked, looking at Genesis.

“I can clean up later,” Genesis promised.

Cloud gave a small whine, holding his hand out to Genesis. He wanted Genesis to come in the warm water with him.

He watched as Genesis sighed and took off his clothes before slipping into the water as well. He sat across from Cloud as he sank down to stare at the Alpha as he was barely visible through the bubbles. He met Genesis’s gaze before frowning as his eyes strayed over to the bloody bandage on the redhead’s shoulder. He moved over, fumbling with the bandage as he tried to get it off. He wanted to make sure that Genesis was okay.

“Hurt?”

“I’m okay,” Genesis lied.

Cloud huffed as he said, “Show.”

“It’s fine, Cloud.”

Cloud finally got the bandage off, whining sadly as he saw the wound. He reached out hesitantly to touch it before Genesis suddenly felt what almost felt like a curaga being cast only much stronger. Cloud pulled his hand away to reveal the wound closed and healed over, smiling brightly at Genesis.

The Alpha stared at the blond in shock, causing Cloud to recoil in fear. He was going to be hurt, he knew that he shouldn’t do something like that. The bad people always hurt him when he did things he shouldn’t be able to do. No other humans could do this from what he understood.

“Cloud?” He flinched at the sound of the Alpha’s voice. “What’s wrong?”

“Bad,” Cloud whispered, curling away from the touch.

“No,” Genesis softly said, his heart breaking as he reached out to the omega. “No, you’re not bad. I was just surprised that you did that. It hadn’t healed at all and-”

“Not bad?” Cloud sniffled.

Genesis pulled him into a hug, assuring him, “You could never be bad, Cloud.”

Cloud clung to him tightly, trembling as he tried to not let himself cry. Genesis held him, making hushing sounds as he tried to calm the omega down. He hadn’t even considered how horrible those scientists in Wutai would have been had Cloud shown an ability like this. He could heal things that no cure, no potion could even heal. What else could this little omega do that they couldn’t even begin to fathom?

Cloud finally calmed down, letting Genesis get him washed before they got out, the blond bundled in a large towel. The went to the bedroom so Genesis could get clothes for the both of them. Cloud was put into a pair of sweats, curling up on the bed with Genesis.

“Gen?” Zack asked, walking in. “Are you guys coming out?”

“No,” Cloud refused, curling up even more into the blankets he was bundled in.

Genesis smiled at the blond omega as he asked, “Are you okay ordering food?”

“Yeah. What sounds good?”

“That restaurant Angeal likes to go to after we all get back from a mission. They should have something bland enough that Cloud’s stomach won’t get too upset considering he hasn’t really had anything with real flavor.”

“Chicken and dumplings it is,” Zack said with a grin. “I’ll go grab it. Oh, and Geal wants you to call him.”

“I will when it’s a decent time there,” Genesis promised as he grabbed the book from the bedside table.

Cloud peered curiously at the book. He had seen Genesis looking at it many times, but didn’t know what it was about. Sephiroth had said that it was Genesis’s favorite book and he had seen the pages, but he was scared to ask for Genesis to read it to him. Everyone else seemed to know what the words said whenever there were papers, but Cloud knew that he had never learned. He figured he wasn’t supposed to know how to.

“Cloud?” Genesis asked, glancing down at the omega who was curled up against him, Genesis’s arm wrapped around the small body. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Uh-huh,” Cloud said, looking up into the bright eyes of his Alpha.

“Do you know how to read?”

“Read?” Cloud repeated.

“Do you know what these words are?” Genesis motioned towards the page.

Cloud hesitated before shaking his head, starting to tear up as he saw the disappointed look on the Alpha’s face. He was supposed to know and he didn’t and Genesis was upset at him. They were so nice and he just kept disappointing all of them. So much that Angeal and Sephiroth weren’t there anymore.

“Hey, hey,” Genesis said, his fingers tilting Cloud’s chin up so he was looking into the tearful gaze. “I’m not mad at you. It’s those horrible people in Wutai I’m mad at. Do you want me to read to you?”

Cloud sniffled, nodding in agreement as he clinged to Genesis tightly. He didn’t deserve all the kindness he was being shown.

Genesis wiped the tears away before turning back to the book and beginning to read. He would glance down occasionally to see Cloud fighting against going to sleep. Instead of saying anything, Genesis just continued reading.

_“No one was expecting a man who appeared almost Godlike to stand against the calamity. Hair like a golden Chocobo and eyes blue as the sea. A warrior from the planet herself sent to protect Gaia’s children.”_

Cloud closed his eyes, slowly drifting off to the sound of Genesis’s voice.

_All he could see were flashes of colors. Red everywhere he looked while a nearly mako green color swirled around him. There were screams all around and he could feel pain and fear and he just wanted to be home. He wanted to go home and stay with his pack who loved him. His pack who sent him to take care of this because… because…_

_“…d! …loud, wake… safe… Wake up!”_

The blond omega jerked awake, trembling as he looked around fearfully for the colors. The screams still echoed in his ears and he could feel everything still.

“You’re safe,” came a familiar soft voice. “You’re safe, I’ve got you.”

Turning, Cloud buried his face in the familiar chest, feeling a protective embrace. He trembled, sobbing as he his fingers clenched into fists, confined between the two bodies.

“Was it a bad dream?” He nodded, nuzzling into the chest deeper. “Was it those horrible people?”

Was it? It didn’t feel like them, it felt like something else. It felt like something dark and cold and horrible, but not where he was kept. Not the cold of the metal that he had been forced around, but something else. Something… something worse.

Finally, he shook his head, sniffling as he quietly said, “Hurt…”

“No one can hurt you again. We won’t let anyone hurt you again.”

A familiar ringing sound suddenly echoed through the room. Cloud tensed, shouting, “No!” as he clung to the Alpha who held him. He didn’t want Genesis to go away, he didn’t want to be alone. Going away meant that he wouldn’t come back either.

“Shh, I’m not going anywhere,” Genesis promised, removing one arm from the embrace to grab his PHS. “I’m not leaving you, Love.”

He saw that it was Angeal and answered the PHS, a frown on his face as he did so. It was the middle of the night in Wutai, still hours from sunrise.

_“Gen?”_

Cloud perked up at the sound of Sephiroth’s voice, looking around curiously. He sounded far away and his voice was fuzzy.

“What’s wrong?” Genesis asked, immediately concerned that he was getting a call this late at night for them. “Are you okay?”

_“I’m fine. We were ambushed by Wutai troops.”_

“You and Geal are okay though?”

_“We’re… we’re uninjured.”_

Genesis bit back a growl at the sound of defeat in the omega’s voice on the phone. He wanted to wrap the silver haired man in a blanket and hide him away from the rest of the world. He hated hearing him sound like that.

“What happened?”

_“Godo agreed to surrender…”_

“I hear a but in there, Seph.”

_“In exchange for Cloud back.”_

Genesis couldn’t hold back the snarl this time, anger filling him as he held Cloud even tighter. He would never allow the blond to return to Wutai. He stared down at the blond who was looking up at him with a tense expression.

_“We’re not giving him up. Angeal threatened to release to the rest of the world how Godo allows omegas to be treated behind closed doors and inferred that it would result in his daughter being removed from him.”_

“I bet he didn’t like that.”

_“How are you guys? You made it to Midgar alright?”_

“We’re fine. Cloud had a bad dream, but we’re fine.” Genesis looked down at the blond. “Do you want to say hello to Seph?”

Cloud tilted his head to the side and asked, “Where?”

“Here,” Genesis said, nodding to the PHS. “It’s a device we can use to communicate when we’re far away.”

_“Hello, Cloud.”_

Cloud perked up at Sephiroth speaking to him, asking, “Come here?”

_“As soon as we can.”_

Cloud gave a soft whine at that, not liking that Sephiroth wasn’t going to be around.

“He’ll be back soon,” Genesis promised. “But in the meantime, Zack and I are both here.”

Cloud crooned as he nuzzled against Genesis’s chest.

“Seph, go to Geal’s tent and get a few hours of sleep, alright?”

_“I will.”_

“I love you,” Genesis said in a sing-song voice, knowing that Sephiroth hated saying it in public.

“Love you,” Cloud repeated.

_“I… I love… you both as well.”_

Genesis grinned as he hung up the phone, watched as Cloud stared in awe at the phone. The blond couldn’t believe that the small device was able to let Genesis and Sephiroth communicate when they were gone. Did that mean that other people were the ones who were telling them to towards the danger? These other people were the ones telling Sephiroth to be wrong?

“See?” Genesis asked. “It’s not entirely bad.” He thought of something. “Do you want to help me choose some new ringtones so you know when Seph and Angeal call?”

Cloud nodded shlyly, Genesis smiling as he spent the next ten minutes with the small blond listening in awe to all the different sounds. He eventually decided on what Genesis had to admit were the most obnoxious ones. Zack was the obnoxious Stamp song which Genesis had to admit _was_ the best one picked out. Sephiroth’s was some victory theme that Cloud thought suited him. Angeal’s was the obnoxious Chocobo song, which was only agreed to after Genesis refused to let Andrea’s ridiculous Honeybee Inn theme on his phone – Andi would never let the redhead live it down if he found out.

Genesis sent a message to Angeal, letting him know about what he had found out about Cloud’s illiteracy as well as the nightmare. He was already plotting which stores he had to go to for things for the omega, ready to go as soon as he could. A list of clothes, books, and other necessities.

“Love Gen,” Cloud mumbled from where he was curled up in Genesis’s arms.

Genesis paused, looking down at the small omega, nuzzling his side. Cloud had never said any of their names, though he understood who they were referring to. Cloud didn’t seem to have noticed any difference though as he kept

“And I love Cloud,” Genesis muttered, knowing that he’d be holding it over Angeal and Zack for a long time.


	8. Chapter 8

In all, it took Angeal and Sephiroth a month to finally return to Midgar. Within that time, Genesis, Zack, and Cloud had all gotten into a schedule. Genesis was running SOLDIER so he was stuck on desk duty, using the time to work from home with the exception of those meetings that couldn’t wait until Lazard returned at which point Zack would come home early and stay with Cloud. Zack would also field as many missions in town as he could, only taking two out of Midgar which lasted a day each.

After the first week, Cloud had surprised Genesis by kneeling at his feet and leaning against the Alpha’s legs. Genesis had asked if Cloud wanted to sit on a chair to which the blond had replied in the negative. _Nice_ had been the word Cloud had used to answer the question. Instead of forcing the omega to sit on a chair, Genesis had sent him to get a pillow that he could sit on so his knees wouldn’t hurt.

Coming in and seeing Cloud at Genesis’s feet had obviously surprised Zack if his expression was anything to go by, but he just shrugged it off and went to shower after his mission. When asked about it, Zack explained that if Cloud was fine with it, he wasn’t going to say anything. And Cloud was half asleep against Genesis’s legs so he was obviously fine with it. Letting Cloud do what was natural to him was also how they learned more about the omega.

It was, unfortunately, a meltdown that made Genesis realize something that they had never even considered. The first mission that had taken Zack out of Midgar for the night had resulted in Cloud crying and fighting Genesis about everything. Genesis had went into the bedroom with Cloud and shut the door before he silently started pulling out the blankets and cushions that Sephiroth used when he built his nest during heat. As he started putting it together, he glanced over at the blond fully expecting for him to help put it together only to see genuine confusion on Cloud’s face. He didn’t know what a nest was and that information was what hurt Genesis – and Zack was he was informed of the new information – the most. If he’d ever been placed in one before, the omega didn’t remember.

Genesis glanced up from his laptop as the door opened, giving a relieved smile as he saw Angeal and Sephiroth both walking in. He had made a nest with Cloud helping in order to curb his emotions when he heard that Genesis had to go to a meeting while Zack was on a mission. He’d placed the omega in the nest, directing Cloud to stay there until he returned only to come back and find Cloud asleep and curled up with the pillow that Genesis had been using at night.

Sephiroth moved over to Genesis, the redhead pushing away from the table so the silver haired omega could sit in his lap. He wrapped his arms around Sephiroth, nuzzling his hair to stake his claim even as Sephiroth purred, his face pressed against Genesis’s throat.

“Hi,” Angeal said with a smile as he leaned down to kiss Genesis. “Everything okay?”

“No,” Genesis admitted. “Every time I learn something about Cloud, I… Gaia, he had no idea what a nest even was.”

Both Angeal and Sephiroth tensed at that. Even Sephiroth had been allowed a nest when he was growing up when things became too overwhelming. At least until he was ten years old, but he started making them himself again when he was old enough to start experiencing heats.

“How did you-?”

“Went to pull Seph’s things out when he was having a meltdown and when I started putting it together, he was watching me like he had no idea what I was doing.”

“Where is he now?” Angeal asked.

At Genesis’s motion towards the bedrooms, Angeal walked into the back where he found Cloud sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The dark haired Alpha couldn’t help the amused smile as he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, just outside of the nest.

“Did you have a good nap?”

Cloud paused as he registered the voice before launching himself at Angeal. He nuzzled the large Alpha’s throat as his purr stuttered out before he tried again and again.

“I’m right here,” Angeal promised, nuzzling him. “I’m here and so is Seph.”

“Stay?” Cloud asked.

“We’re here to stay,” he agreed, kissing the omega’s hair. “We’ll never be gone like that again.”

They stayed like that as Sephiroth walked in. Angeal gave the silver haired omega an amused smile as he scowled at the nest and moved to fix it. Even though the alphas had tried multiple times, Sephiroth had insisted that it was wrong and had to fix it. It seemed like this time wasn’t any different if his adjusting everything was any indication.

“Safe?” Cloud asked, peering out at Sephiroth.

Sephiroth silently nodded as he continued fixing the nest. As soon as he was done, he removed his coat and climbed into the nest. Angeal leaned over to run his fingers through the silver hair before Cloud moved from his lap to lay in the next to the older omega, Sephiroth pulling him into his arms. The older omega’s muscles relaxed as they lay there, Sephiroth able to be himself for the first time in a long time.

“Will you stay here and make sure Seph relaxes?” Angeal asked, running his fingers through Cloud’s hair.

Cloud smiled and chirped, “Yes.”

Angeal left Cloud to nuzzle against Sephiroth, frowning as he watched the larger omega silently crying. He whined sadly, butting his head against Sephiroth’s chin and trying to purr, though it kept stuttering to the point that he became frustrated and stopped. He didn’t know why Sephiroth was crying so much, but he didn’t like it at all. Sephiroth had been wrong back with all the tents, but he was always really strong about it.

“Gen,” Cloud called, not wanting to leave Sephiroth when he was upset. He didn’t realize how distressed his voice sounded. “Help!”

Genesis and Angeal both walked in, concern on both their faces as they came over to the nest. As soon as they saw Sephiroth’s tear stained face, the two Alphas exchanged a look before they climbed in as well. It was snug, but they were both concerned about their omega. Sephiroth had never been the most mentally stable and the fact that he was crying and hadn’t come to them meant that something was wrong.

Sephiroth buried his face in Angeal’s throat as he reached back to cling to Genesis.

“We’ve got you,” Angeal said, running his fingers through the Sephiroth’s hair. “You’re safe.”

“You won’t leave?” Sephiroth asked, his voice sounding so unsure.

“Of course we won’t,” Genesis promised. “We’ll always be here for you.”

“Me too,” Cloud agreed, nuzzling Sephiroth’s back.

“Did Hojo say something to you?” Angeal asked.

Sephiroth made a hurt sound that made Cloud frown as he tried to purr to calm Sephiroth down.

“You know that nothing Hojo says is true,” Genesis told his omega. “We will _always_ want you, no matter what.”

“Even though I-I… even though I’m a horrible omega?”

“You’re not a horrible omega. You have to be the general, but every day when you come home, we’ll be here to take care of you.”

They all lay there until Sephiroth had cried himself to sleep, none of them wanting to move. Cloud turned to look at Genesis as he felt the Alpha shift behind him.

“Thank you for getting us,” Genesis said, nuzzling Cloud. “That was a very smart thing to do.”

That was another thing that Genesis and Zack had realized and something that he had been filling Angeal in on. Cloud was so upset to the point of panic attacks when he didn’t know something he should or when he thought that he wasn’t smart compared to the two Alphas. He was so self-conscious about it that they had taken to praising him when he did something right.

“Was good?” Cloud asked.

“It was very good,” Angeal agreed.

“Seph gets scared that he does something wrong too,” Genesis told the blond. “If he gets scared again, can you tell us right away?”

Cloud nodded in agreement when Angeal shifted to sit up. He looked at Genesis and Cloud before muttering about going shopping in the morning so they didn’t have to eat out every night. He hadn’t been surprised that the three members of their pack had been eating take-out but he wished they would have at least bought more fruits and vegetables for Cloud.

“What sounds good?” Angeal finally asked.

“Do that place Seph likes.”

Angeal nodded as Cloud asked, “What food?”

“It will make your mouth a little hot, but I think you’ll like it.”

Cloud nodded eagerly. He had liked all the food that he had tried except for the drink that Genesis liked when he woke up in the morning. Cloud had it exactly one time and it was enough for him to never want it again. But Genesis had said that it wasn’t for Cloud so he didn’t have to drink it.

Angeal pulled out his PHS, which caused Cloud to tense up slightly and Genesis to sigh. Cloud was getting better being around them, but he was always afraid that someone was going to go away when he saw one.

“I’m just ordering dinner,” Angeal promised. “I heard that Gen and Zack have been teaching you some things?”

“Reading,” Cloud piped up with a proud smile.

“Do you want to get one of your books and show Angeal?”

Cloud nodded before pausing and looking at Sephiroth as a sad sound escaped his throat. He didn’t want to leave Sephiroth, not when the other omega was so distressed. Sephiroth had kept him safe and he should do the same thing.

“You can stay here and show Angeal later,” Genesis promised, running his fingers over the blond’s arm. “I know you’re worried.”

“Sad,” Cloud sadly said, looking at Sephiroth.

“Has he been outside the apartment at all?”

Cloud tilted his head to the side as he saw Genesis shake his head. He tilted his head to the side in confusion, not understanding what they were talking about.

“Do you want to go for a walk with me?” Angeal asked. “Gen will stay with Seph while we go get more blankets.”

Cloud hesitated, looking back at Sephiroth before reluctantly nodding in agreement. He nuzzled Sephiroth’s back one last time before climbing out of the nest and taking Angeal’s hand. They went to the front door before Cloud paused, his muscles tensing. He didn’t want to leave and go back into that metal box.

Angeal sighed as he watched the omega, trying to decide how to deal this new turn of events. He should have told Genesis to at least try and get Cloud into the other apartments despite knowing that Genesis would have kept him in Sephiroth’s. He should have insisted that Cloud actually get out of the small three bedroom two bath apartment that was Sephiroth’s domain.

“We’ll come right back,” Angeal promised. “It’s just for a few minutes. We’re not leaving this floor, okay? No one is going to even be on this floor.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Cloud nodded in agreement and took slow steps out of the apartment. Angeal closed the door behind them, knowing that Cloud would probably be terrified if he heard Sephiroth crying out from Genesis claiming him. He didn’t want to terrify the blond omega, especially when he wasn’t mentally mature enough to understand from what they were aware of.

They went to Angeal’s apartment first, the Alpha fully aware that they would be in there for a while. He was proved correct when as soon as they walked in, Cloud stared in amazement at the plants that were inside. With the exception of a couple cacti, Angeal’s plant collection was all fake due to the fact that he was gone on missions too much to take care of them. This was also where Sephiroth came if he needed to calm down but didn’t want to be in his own apartment.

Angeal walked into the kitchen to grab something to drink while Cloud wandered around curiously. He watched as Cloud looked in confusion at the small cactus in the window.

“What?” Cloud asked, turning around to look at Angeal.

“Cactus,” came the answer.

“Cac-tus,” Cloud hesitantly said, looking at the Alpha to make sure he was correct in pronouncing it.

“It’s a plant that grows in the desserts. It doesn’t need a lot of water so it’s easy to take care of.”

They spent the next twenty minutes with Angeal sitting on the couch explaining to Cloud about each of the plants. It was kind of adorable to watch his innocence, but at the same time, it made Angeal even more furious about how Wutai treated him as some sort of animal.

“Blankets?” Cloud asked.

Angeal smiled at him and said, “That’s right. We were going to get some more blankets.” Cloud nodded in agreement. “Let’s get them and take them back to Seph and Gen.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Sephiroth chapter so that we can get some insight into him.

Sephiroth stood tense as he departed the truck that he and Angeal rode in along with the rest of the SOLDIERs finally returning from Wutai. He knew the rules, that they were all supposed to report to the science department at the end of every mission either before or after their report was filed in order to ensure that there were no issues. With the First Class SOLDIERs, it was more of a technicality, but Sephiroth still dreaded it every time. Because he still had to meet with Hojo without his Alphas – the only time this was ever allowed.

Angeal put a hand on Sephiroth’s shoulder as he stepped out, squeezing it comfortingly before they started the trek to the science department. The rest of SOLDIER all remained on the elevator as the two Firsts stepped off, leaving them in an empty hallway.

“It will be okay,” Angeal quietly said, stepping forward to kiss Sephiroth chastely. “Quick in and out and then we can go check on Cloud and you and I have the next week off.”

Sephiroth nodded in agreement, swallowing thickly as he pulled away. He threw a glance at Angeal before heading towards where he knew Hojo would be waiting for him. Angeal was right, it would be a fast in and out, but it didn’t mean that Hojo wouldn’t do anything. Hojo was known to inject him with something in order to force him to stay longer or run some test and tell Sephiroth to come back with any changes – the last one made him extremely ill for days.

He watched as Hojo glanced at him before turning and walking away. Sephiroth had a brief moment where he considered disappearing and going to find Angeal, but that would be showing weakness. And it was better to not show weakness with the professor.

They went into a room, Sephiroth immediately removing his coat and taking a seat on the metal slab. So long as Hojo didn’t make the omega remove his pants, he could get through this. He could get through this without his emotions taking over and making this even worse.

Hojo stuck him with a needle to draw blood as he asked, “What is it like?”

“What?” Sephiroth questioned, not understanding.

“What is it like to know that your pack is replacing you with another omega? A _proper_ omega.”

Sephiroth clenched his jaw, refusing to respond to the taunt.

“You know you’ve never been good enough for them, not able to perform your… _duties_ as an omega. They’ll always take a proper omega over a broken one.”

A single tear slid down Sephiroth’s cheek as he lowered his head. His hair hid his face from Hojo’s view, but he knew that the professor was aware he struck a nerve. He’d drilled the same things into Sephiroth’s head for years. That no pack would want him because he could never be a true omega. No one would want a broken omega, one who pretended to be an Alpha. A fake Alpha that no one would want to follow if they knew.

Sephiroth sat there, his mind replaying Hojo’s words over and over as Hojo ran the tests. It wasn’t until there was a single knock on the door that Hojo scoffed and turned away, telling Sephiroth that he could leave.

The omega stood up, his movements mechanical as he put on his coat and left the room. He didn’t so much as glance over at Angeal or make any indication that his alpha was with him. He didn’t expect Angeal to say or do anything until they were in the elevator at on the floor they all lived. He didn’t expect anything, but he wanted Angeal to grab him, wanted his Alpha to assure him that he was a good omega. He wanted to be good for them, but how could he when everything that Hojo said was correct? He wasn’t a proper omega, he was broken and no one wanted a broken omega.

“Seph?” He tensed at Angeal’s soft tone. “Did Hojo do something?”

“No,” came the automatic answer. “Nothing.”

“He said something?” There was no need for an answer. “You know that his words are lies, Seph.” Angeal wrapped his arms around Sephiroth’s waist, nuzzling the omega’s neck. “Don’t listen to anything he says.”

Sephiroth nodded, his head still ducked as they stepped onto the elevator. The trip down to their apartments felt like it took all eternity. Once he could smell Genesis and Zack on the floor, his muscles relaxed just slightly. He was home, he was with his pack and everything would be ok.

He followed Angeal into the apartment to find Genesis sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop. Genesis’s smile looked just as relieved as Sephiroth felt. Without removing his shoes or his coat like he normally would at the door, he walked over and sat on Genesis’s lap, curling up immediately. Feeling Genesis’s face against his head, nuzzling him, he pressed his own nose into Genesis’s neck, breathing in the familiar scent of dirt and apples and cinnamon.

Sephiroth wasn’t paying attention to the conversation until he felt Genesis tense and smelled distress coming from him. He whined quietly, not liking his Alpha’s distress. When he heard the reason why, though, his heart shattered. Even _he_ knew what a nest was, regardless of if he frequently used one or not. He liked them, but he was so afraid of showing his omega side that he rarely built one, let alone using it.

As soon as Angeal went to check on Cloud, Genesis pulled Sephiroth back by the hair, causing a whine to escape. It had been so long since Sephiroth had been claimed, he wanted it so badly. He wanted to prove that he was a good omega, he could do everything that Cloud could even if he couldn’t show that he belonged to his Alphas in public.

“Such a good boy,” Genesis praised, kissing Sephiroth. “You did such a good job in Wutai.”

“Please,” Sephiroth whimpered.

Genesis sighed in regret as he pulled away, saying, “I have to finish this first. Later, I promise.”

Sephiroth made a distressed sound, his body trembling as he tried to keep from crying. He knew that he shouldn’t believe what Hojo told him, but he couldn’t help it. Especially when his mates would barely touch him even when they were reluctant to touch him even when they were alone.

“I know,” Genesis softly said. “I want to, but I have to finish this report.” He kissed Sephiroth’s head. “Do you want to go check on Cloud and Geal while I finish this? Then we can cuddle.”

Sephiroth nodded stiffly as he stood up, his muscles tense as he walked in to see Cloud curled up in Angeal’s arms. He fought down the jealousy and hurt, scowling at Angeal’s smile as he moved over to fix the nest. It was only the fact that he was able to focus on something that kept him from crying.

“Safe?”

Sephiroth nodded stiffly at the question, not trusting himself to say anything that wouldn’t be spiteful or make Cloud believe that he hated him. It wasn’t the blond’s fault that their Alphas wanted him more than they wanted Sephiroth. He was the kind of omega that every Alpha wanted – someone who relied on Alphas to care for them, weak enough to do what they wanted with him. Not like Sephiroth who fought his instincts.

Once he finished, he removed his coat and draped it over the dresser, removing his boots before he climbed in. He curled up, his muscles tense as he did so. He just wanted Angeal to go away and leave him there, didn’t want them to pretend anymore that they wanted him.

He felt the nest shift before looking over to see Cloud moving over to curl up against him. Sephiroth wrapped his arms around the blond’s body, holding onto him as his muscles relaxed slightly. Cloud was too good for any of them, none of them deserved this sweet omega. They were monsters, all of them.

He didn’t pay attention to what Angeal was saying before the Alpha left. As soon as Angeal was gone, the tears that Sephiroth had been fighting were let out. He silently cried as he clung to Cloud, unable to stop even as the other omega butted against him and tried his hardest to purr. It just made the tears flow even harder as he trembled with silent sobs.

“Gen, help!” he heard Cloud call, though it didn’t click that he had said Genesis’s name. He could barely focus on anything other than his trembling and tears as Hojo’s words circled around in his mind.

He could smell Angeal and Genesis as they walked in, pulling away from Cloud enough that they could see the tears. He turned his face back to hide it in Cloud’s hair as he felt movement and he could feel both of them nearby.

Angeal rolled him over so he could cling to the Alpha, burying his face in Angeal’s neck as his hand reached blindly back for Genesis. He wanted them, needed them to assure him that he safe, that they still wanted him even if he was a horrible omega.

“We’ve got you,” Angeal whispered as Sephiroth felt the Alpha’s fingers in his hair. “You’re safe.”

“Y-you won’t leave?” He hated how weak and unsure his voice sounded, but he had fought his instincts for so long that he couldn’t help it.

“Of course we won’t, we’ll always be here for you.”

“Me too,” came Cloud’s agreement as he nuzzled the older omega’s back.

“Did Hojo say something to you?”

The sound that Sephiroth made was horrible enough that Cloud attempted to purr for Sephiroth. It just made the silver haired omega upset that Cloud was trying to make sure he was okay when the blond was in a more precarious situation.

“We will always want you,” Genesis softly said, kissing the back of Sephiroth’s hand. “No matter what.”

“Even though I-I…” He choked on a sob. “Even though I’m a horrible omega?”

“You’re not a horrible omega,” Angeal assured him. “You have to be the general, but every day when you come home, we’ll be here to take care of you.”

Sephiroth continued to cry, clinging to both Angeal and Genesis until he fell asleep.

_He was in a metal room in the labs, staring at Angeal, Genesis, and Zack as they stood in the doorway. He tried to go towards them, but they turned to walk away towards where Cloud was standing. They were all smiling and touching the blond omega, even as Sephiroth cried out and begged for them to come back, to take him with them._

_“You think they really want to keep you over the other omega?” came Hojo’s voice from behind him. “You, the omega who can’t do anything right?”_

_“No,” Sephiroth whined, clutching his head._

_“No Alpha could ever want an omega who doesn’t act their designation, let alone follow their orders when they should be the ones obeying.”_

_There was another presence, nothing that Sephiroth could see as he looked around. Everything went dark and cold, the only light coming from Cloud and his blond locks. Something was behind him, but when he turned around, there was nothing but darkness._

_“They aren’t worthy of you,” a cold, female voice spoke behind him as he continued to watch. “You are a god and you will show them. Come to me and we will destroy those who seek to harm you.”_

_“T-they’re my pack,” Sephiroth whispered, his arms wrapping around himself as he spoke. “I-I don’t want to hurt them.”_

_“Your pack wants to hurt you, my son. They want you to suffer. You must make them suffer in return. I can help you. I can teach you things those mortals could only dream about. Come to me, my son. Mother wants to help you.”_

Sephiroth shot into a sitting position, panting as he looked around frantically. He was in his bedroom, in a next with Genesis watching him in concern. He was safe in his room with one of his Alphas, he was safe and no one could hurt him.

“Seph?” Genesis asked, holding his arms out.

Sephiroth whined as he curled up in the arms, pressing against Genesis as he trembled.

“Bad dream?” Genesis asked.

“Y-you didn’t want me,” Sephiroth stuttered out with a distressed whimper. “And… and Hojo and…”

“Shh,” Genesis whispered, rubbing his back. “Deep breaths, love.”

Sephiroth did as he was told, whimpering as Genesis ran his fingers through the silver hair. Genesis always loved playing with it and it was soothing now for the omega after so many years.

“I-I don’t w-want to,” Sephiroth whispered, clinging to Genesis. “I don’t want to hurt you. Don’t let her make me.”

“Who?”

“S-she called herself M-Mother. She… she wants me to hurt you.”

“It was just a dream,” Genesis softly said. “It was just a dream.”

Sephiroth trembled before asking, “C-can you make me forget?”

Genesis hummed as he kissed the omega’s head, moving to lay Sephiroth back down in the nest. He moved to straddle Sephiroth’s waist, the omega trembling in anticipation as he felt Genesis’s fingers burning across every inch of skin they touched. His fingers slid up the man’s chest, over his shoulders, until they pushed the long silver strands of hair out of the way. The mark that Genesis had claimed him with – that they all had – barely visible to a normal man’s eye. To a SOLDIER, however, it was like flashing a neon sign.

“It has been a while since I’ve claimed you,” Genesis said thoughtfully.

“Please,” Sephiroth gasped out, trembling though it was in anticipation this time. “Gaia, please, Genesis. Alpha, please.”

He could see the taunting smile as Genesis leaned down to nip at the mark. There was a cry of surprise as his back arched, his body feeling like it was just electrocuted by the teasing bite alone. It would feel so good once he had the actual thing. Once he had Genesis’s knot and the bite to go with it.

Sephiroth squirmed under the touch, his leather pants getting uncomfortable as his cock brushed against it as well as the slick that was leaking out of him. He wanted so badly to remove his pants, but he knew the rules with Genesis. He knew that if he pushed Genesis off so that he could remove his pants, Genesis would leave him there. Or worse, tease him until Sephiroth was barely able to do more than babble and plead.

“Does my omega need something?” Genesis taunted.

Sephiroth whimpered as Genesis’s fingers quickly removed the leather pants. Sephiroth’s hands moved down towards his own cock before a pair of hands grabbed his wrists. He whined, staring up at Genesis with pleading eyes. He needed more, needed some sort of stimulation.

“You know better, love.” Genesis kissed each of his palms before placing them next to Sephiroth’s head. “Will you be a good omega and keep them right here for me?”

“I-I need… I…”

“I know. I know what you need.”

Genesis’s mouth was on Sephiroth’s, the omega whimpering and gasping into the Alpha’s mouth. He couldn’t focus, his mind blank as he was overwhelmed with Genesis’s mouth and fingers everywhere. A sob escaped his mouth as he felt Genesis slipping two fingers inside of him. It had been so long and it was so overwhelming that he couldn’t think, couldn’t move.

“Tell me what you want, love.”

“You…”

“You have me, love…”

Sephiroth whined, reaching up to grab Genesis’s shoulders to ground himself. He needed something to hold onto, something to prove to himself that this was real.

Genesis humped against him, pressing his clothed cock against Sephiroth’s naked one. “Is this what you need, Seph?”

“Please… Alpha…”

Genesis nipped at his jaw as he ordered, “Be good and stay here.”

Sephiroth stared, watching as Genesis pulled off his clothes. His tongue darted out to lick his lips as he watched, his mouth watering as he saw the large cock. He wanted his mouth around it, wanted it filling him up in any of his holes. He just wanted to be filled up, wanted to be used and shown that he was still useful.

Genesis moved back over, teasing Sephiroth as he pressed just the head in. Sephiroth’s legs wrapped around the Alpha, trying to pull him closer, get him deeper. Instead of pushing in, Genesis chuckled and Sephiroth fingers wrap around his legs, moving them so they were over the Alpha’s shoulders, giving him a deeper angle.

“I want to make you remember this,” Genesis said, leaning down to kiss Sephiroth, folding the omega in half. “I want you to remember that you are mine no matter what Hojo or anyone else says.”

Sephiroth breathed in the scent of his Alpha, the smell of an apple orchard and cinnamon almost overwhelming. He could feel Genesis slowly pushing in at a frustratingly slow pace. How long had it been since he’d been allowed this? Allowed to feel his Alpha inside of him like this when he wasn’t in heat?

As soon as Genesis bottomed out, Sephiroth let out a sob of relief. He felt so full, so right, so _wanted_ right now.

“Please,” came the gasp. “Pleaseplease, _please!”_

“If only Wutai could see you now,” Genesis taunted, kissing and nipping along the omega’s chest. “So open, so eager to submit.”

The retort was stopped as Genesis pulled out only to thrust back in. Sephiroth was reduced to nothing but whining and whimpering as Genesis thrust in and out. He trembled, clinging to the redhead as he was fucked, unable to do anything else. He cried out as he came, trembling as Genesis continued to pound into him a few more times, his knot catching on Sephiroth and making him mewl every time.

Sephiroth cried out in relief, tears sliding down his cheeks as Genesis bit him at the same time the Alpha came. It felt like he was being claimed the first time, like he was coming home.

“You were so good,” Genesis said as he moved them.

Sephiroth whimpered at how overstimulated he felt when the knot tugged at his hole.

“I know,” Genesis assured him, pulling one of the blankets over them. “Better?”

“Hmm…”

Sephiroth closed his eyes as he curled up against Genesis, a soft smile on his face.


End file.
